Bishkek city, July 28, 2026
Dear Erlis Abakirovich, Dear Laziz Shafkatovich, Dear Bakyt Tolomushevich, Dear participants and guests of the forum!
Today, it is a great honor for me to welcome the participants of the Kyrgyz-Uzbek Business Forum titled "Kyrgyzstan – Uzbekistan: Industrial Cooperation, Investments and Trade" in Bishkek city, our Uzbek friends and partners.
I would like to express my deep gratitude to our Uzbek colleagues and representatives of the business community for taking the time to participate in this important event and coming specifically to the Kyrgyz Republic.
We welcome you with joy on Kyrgyz land! Welcome to Bishkek!
Today's forum is of special significance. It is taking place ahead of the state visit of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan to the Kyrgyz Republic and serves as an important platform for strengthening business ties, developing industrial cooperation, and implementing new joint investment projects.
The Kyrgyz people have always valued neighborly relations, honesty, and openness. These values form the foundation of the fraternal relations between Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan.
Today, Kyrgyz-Uzbek cooperation stands at the most important and dynamic stage in the history of the independence of both states. Such results are the outcome of the political will of the President of the Kyrgyz Republic, Honorable Sadyr Nurgozhoevich Japarov, and the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Honorable Shavkat Miromonovich Mirziyoyev, as well as their consistent policies aimed at developing mutual trust and strategic partnership.
Today, we are witnessing that the mutual trust between the heads of state has become a reliable foundation for strengthening cooperation among our peoples, entrepreneurs, regions, and all sectors of the economy.
Dear friends!
Agreements reached at a high level are currently being solidified with concrete economic results. Today's forum is a practical continuation of this dialogue, directing new ideas and initiatives towards investments, modern productions, and the creation of new jobs.
Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan are consistently carrying out economic reforms and further improving the investment climate. I believe that sharing best practices will create opportunities for our countries to successfully implement many joint projects.
Taking this opportunity, I would like to especially highlight the successful organization of the fifth Tashkent International Investment Forum, which I had the opportunity to participate in this June, and sincerely congratulate our Uzbek colleagues on successfully holding this large-scale event. The forum once again confirmed Uzbekistan's high international reputation as one of the leading investment centers in the region.
Kyrgyzstan is consistently implementing large-scale reforms aimed at developing the economy. By the end of 2025, our country's economy is expected to show one of the highest growth rates in the region, exceeding 11 percent. The volume of gross domestic product reached 1.9 trillion soms for the first time in the country's history.
The volume of foreign direct investments exceeded 1.3 billion US dollars, increasing by more than 27 percent compared to last year. As of July 2026, investments in fixed capital grew by 64.3 percent.
In the last three years, 77 investment agreements totaling 12.4 billion US dollars and 55 agreements in public-private partnerships worth 4.3 billion US dollars have been signed. The total volume of new investment project portfolios exceeds 23 billion US dollars. These figures demonstrate the growing confidence of investors in Kyrgyzstan and strengthen our country's position as a reliable and attractive partner for investments in Central Asia.
Kyrgyzstan continues to strengthen the trust of the international community. The election of our country as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council for 2027-2028 and its removal from the European Union's "blacklist" in the field of aviation security are important indicators of our country's increasing openness, reliability, and international reputation.
We are consistently working to improve investment laws, introduce modern mechanisms for accompanying investors, and create a transparent and stable investment environment.
Particular attention is being paid to developing the economy of the future. Today, the signing of the Law on "Venture Financing" by the President of the Kyrgyz Republic was a particularly symbolic event. This law creates favorable conditions for supporting startups, information technologies, artificial intelligence, and creative industries, as well as attracting venture investments.
Investors value not only market opportunities but also the quality of public services. Therefore, the National Agency for Investments is establishing a modern digital ecosystem for accompanying investment projects. Our main goal is to provide continuous and effective support to investors at all stages of project implementation.
Today, an updated investment portal developed based on artificial intelligence technologies and available in 30 languages, the interactive investment map of the Kyrgyz Republic, and an AI chatbot designed to accompany investors are successfully operating.
In the next phase, the launch of the "AIS Investments" state digital platform is planned, which will ensure the accompaniment of investment projects based on the "one-stop shop" principle and unite investors and government agencies in a unified digital space.
Dear colleagues!
Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan are today jointly implementing strategic projects that define not only the future of our two countries but of the entire Central Asia.
We view investment projects as an integral part of a unified economic architecture aimed at deepening Central Asian integration and accessing the markets of the Eurasian Economic Union and China. This will promote the expansion of industrial cooperation between our countries, the development of transport and logistics corridors, and the digital transformation of the economy.
A clear example of such cooperation is the construction of the China – Kyrgyzstan – Uzbekistan railway. This is not just an infrastructure project; it is a modern revival of the Great Silk Road, a bridge connecting our people's rich historical heritage with the economy of the future.
Central Asia, located at the intersection of historical trade routes, has unique competitive advantages. Today, the countries of the region are closely cooperating in developing e-commerce, innovative technologies, and new trade-logistics directions.
The Kyrgyz Republic views Central Asia not only as the territory of neighboring countries but as a unified market with a population of over 80 million, significant investment potential, and increasingly strengthened economic interconnections. We believe that further deepening integration will turn our region into one of the most attractive spaces for investments in the world.
At the same time, Kyrgyzstan is implementing several large strategic projects. Among them are the environmentally friendly "Sky City," the four-season "Ala-Too Resort" mountain skiing cluster, and the "Tamchy" financial-investment zone based on English law.
Kyrgyzstan is creating extensive opportunities for the participation of Uzbek investors in the fields of energy, agro-industrial complex, industrial cooperation, construction, pharmaceuticals, digital economy, and modern services.
In addition, joint development of the tourism sector is one of the promising areas of cooperation. Today, the number of foreign tourists is steadily increasing, and the trend of recognizing Central Asia as a unified tourist destination is gaining momentum. There are extensive opportunities to form a competitive tourist offer for the region by combining our natural, cultural, and historical advantages.
We place particular importance on developing cooperation in border regions. The Fergana Valley has significant potential to become one of the key centers of economic development in Central Asia through expanding industrial cooperation and attracting investments.
I would like to particularly highlight the activities of the Kyrgyz-Uzbek Development Fund, which has become one of the effective mechanisms for practically implementing the agreements reached between our countries. The fund has established effective conditions for financing and implementing joint investment projects, demonstrating a high level of mutual trust.
We attach great importance to the active participation of Uzbek business representatives in establishing joint industrial zones, production clusters, and new cooperative ties, and we are interested in further expanding cooperation in this direction.
Dear friends!
Today, the volume of trade turnover between Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan has exceeded 1.2 billion US dollars.
New, even more ambitious goals have been set by the heads of our countries – to reach this figure of 2 billion dollars.
I believe that if we establish joint productions, develop industrial cooperation, and work together to access the markets of third countries, we will achieve this goal much faster.
In conclusion, I would like to emphasize the most important point.
Today, Uzbekistan is one of the key strategic partners for the Kyrgyz Republic in the field of investment cooperation. We highly value the mutual trust established between our countries and strive to further expand investment cooperation in the interests of our states and peoples, implement new joint projects, and develop long-term partnerships.
Our common goal is to shape a new economic space in Central Asia, based on mutual trust, industrial cooperation, modern technologies, and joint development.
I believe that within the framework of today's forum, new agreements, memorandums, and contracts will be signed that will pave the way for new investment projects, joint productions, and long-term partnerships between Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan.
Taking this opportunity, I would like to express my deep gratitude to the Deputy Prime Minister of the Kyrgyz Republic, ministers, the Minister of Investments, Industry and Trade of the Republic of Uzbekistan, the Minister of Economy and Commerce of the Kyrgyz Republic, heads of state agencies, members of delegations, representatives of the business community, and all participants of the forum for their support, active participation, and significant contribution to the preparation and conduct of today's event.
I wish all participants fruitful work, successful negotiations, and the achievement of concrete practical results.
May today's forum be the beginning of new ideas, agreements, joint projects, and successful initiatives that will serve the development of Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, as well as the entire Central Asia.
Thank you for your attention!