Uzbekistan has signed investment agreements with foreign partners totaling $140 billion and plans to attract an additional $50 billion next year, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev said on December 26 in his address to the Oliy Majlis (parliament) and the nation, according to presidential press secretary Sherzod Asadov.
The president noted that in conditions of global competition, only countries that produce goods with high value added succeed. The main criterion of reforms will be the transition of all sectors to an innovation-driven growth model. Already this year, energy consumption per dollar of output has fallen by 13 percent thanks to new technologies.
Mirziyoyev stressed that the only way to expand the economy to $240 billion by 2030 is to shift all sectors to modern technologies. This approach, he said, will form the basis of the country’s economic development in the coming years.
Requirements for foreign partners are changing. From now on, every invested dollar must contribute to technology transfer, export growth, and the training of local personnel.
“In other words, an investor who brings in high technologies and new competencies and works for export will become our most reliable partner,” the president explained.
Strategic investors will be given easier access to resources. Land will be allocated to them directly at market value. If the category of a land plot is changed, payment for this will be allowed in installments for up to 10 years. A single electronic platform will be launched for processing documents and permits, to which all ministries will be connected.
Mirziyoyev recalled that in free economic zones (FEZs), well-known global brands are being attracted, international technical standards and legal regimes are being introduced, including the possibility of arbitration. Over five years, this is expected to create one million high-income jobs and absorb $180 billion in foreign investment. To improve the effectiveness of investment management, the activities of the ministries of economy and finance, investment, industry, and trade will be fundamentally revised, the president announced.
According to him, industrial policy is aimed at increasing value added from the current $36.5 billion to $60 billion. In 2026, 782 new projects worth $52 billion are planned for launch. As early as next year, 228 large facilities will be commissioned.
Key projects include expanding mining operations in Navoi and developing the Muruntau deposit. By 2030, gold production is expected to reach 175 tons. At the Almalyk Mining and Metallurgical Complex, construction has begun on a new $2.7 billion metallurgical complex to produce copper cathodes. Fertilizer and polymer component plants are being built in Samarkand and Kashkadarya.
In total, projects worth $4.5 billion in the chemical industry, $3 billion in mining, and $2 billion in oil and gas will be launched in 2026.
Special attention will be paid to the IT sector and startups. The goal is to raise exports of IT services to $5 billion by 2030. Four data centers, two supercomputers, and 15 artificial intelligence laboratories will be launched in Tashkent, Bukhara, Fergana, and Tashkent Region. Together with Singapore, a financial technology office is being created to help local startups enter foreign markets.
Mirziyoyev also addressed the development of the capital market. Local companies will be allowed to issue foreign-currency bonds domestically, and starting next year enterprises will, for the first time, enter international stock exchanges. This is expected to attract an additional $1 billion into business.
