Uzbekistan embraces foreign investors to cut dependencies

DW (English)

As Uzbekistan seeks to reduce its dependance on Moscow, Western countries are eager to invest in the country. German plasterboard specialist Knauf is only the latest in a group of companies banking on the country.

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00:00Bukhara is one of the most ancient cities in Central Asia.

00:05A staging post on the Great Silk Road,

00:08along with caravans laden with goods travelling from east to west.

00:15And now Bukhara is home to a modern production facility.

00:19The Knauf construction firm has a factory here,

00:22an oasis of German technology in the middle of the Uzbek desert.

00:26The plant makes gypsum plasterboard here.

00:31Our products are identical to the quality of products manufactured in Germany.

00:36We supply plasterboard to the domestic market,

00:39but we export also to neighbouring countries such as Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and Afghanistan.

00:48German business is very interested in Uzbekistan.

00:51Right now 215 German-invested enterprises are operating in the country,

00:56and investments are growing.

01:01Now we're seeing the first investments by Siemens.

01:05A major project is being launched this year that has been in the works for several years.

01:10Linde is also starting a new project.

01:16The US company Air Products started operations in Uzbekistan relatively recently, in 2019.

01:22Its facilities are located at Uzbekistan GTL, a brand new gas-to-liquids plant.

01:28Air Products is processing natural gas into industrial gas here.

01:35We occupy one third of the total area of this plant,

01:39and we are the initial stage of production of synthetic diesel, paraffin and naphtha.

01:49But Russia and China remain Uzbekistan's traditional partners.

01:53In May, Vladimir Putin paid a visit to Tashkent.

01:56An agreement was reached to build the first nuclear power plant in the region.

02:02However, Uzbekistan has recently sought to gradually reduce its dependence on Moscow,

02:07especially after Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

02:15Our main investors, and this is a geopolitical problem, are Russia and China.

02:21Moreover, state investments and investment are mostly in the sphere of mineral extraction,

02:27while our country's objective interests require diversified investments,

02:31so that we do not depend on one or two countries.

02:35And we are also interested in creating goods with high added value.

02:41However, it is still difficult for Western companies to compete with China in this region.

02:47In the quarter between January and March this year, the volume of investment was $8.5 billion.

02:54Uzbekistan tries to maintain a balance and find common ground with all partners,

02:59be it Russia, China or Western countries.

03:10For more UN videos visit www.un.org

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