Uzbekistan is solidifying its position as a regional investment hub following a series of landmark commitments made during the third plenary session of the Council of Foreign Investors, held in June 2025. The gathering brought together leadership from some of the world’s most influential financial institutions and corporations — including the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), Masdar, Indorama, ACWA Power, Boeing, SpaceX, Meta, and Total Energies — alongside representatives from multilateral development organizations such as the OECD, the Asian Development Bank, and the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation.
Investment momentum reaches critical mass
The momentum surrounding foreign direct investment in Uzbekistan is accelerating markedly. Over the past two years, 5,500 new enterprises with foreign participation have been established, bringing the total foreign-invested business count to 16,000. More tellingly, the EBRD alone invested approximately $1 billion in Uzbekistan in the previous year — a figure that elevated the country to the status of the bank’s largest partner across Central Asia and the broader region. Private sector engagement has similarly intensified, with annual project volumes between foreign companies and local banking institutions now exceeding $1 billion.
The breadth of sectoral involvement reveals genuine economic diversification. Major operators in renewable energy — including ACWA Power, Masdar, Linde, and Total Energies — have channeled over $8 billion into green economy development. Technology firms such as DataVolt are constructing what would become the region’s largest green data center, while telecommunications provider Veon is launching AI-powered mobile superplatforms. These are not speculative ventures but concrete infrastructure buildouts designed to anchor long-term regional market positions.
Regulatory framework stabilization and infrastructure acceleration
A central element attracting this wave of capital has been regulatory certainty. Government officials announced that baseline corporate tax rates will remain frozen through 2028 — a commitment that removes significant medium-term planning uncertainty for foreign investors. Beyond taxation, the Council’s work has yielded tangible legislative progress. Proposals from Council members have shaped more than ten laws, presidential decrees, and policy instruments aimed at aligning Uzbek business law with international standards.
Infrastructure delivery has similarly accelerated. During 2025, public-private partnership (PPP) projects worth approximately $4.5 billion have been launched across road construction, transportation, energy, water supply, irrigation, and related sectors. These initiatives reflect a deliberate strategic pivot toward mobilizing private capital alongside government resources to address the country’s substantial infrastructure needs. Working groups have been established to refine legislation governing collateral arrangements, professional workforce development for foreign operators, corporate governance improvements, and tax administration — all signaling responsiveness to investor feedback on operational friction points.
Institutional capacity building and governance upgrades
The Council itself is undergoing institutional redesign. The secretariat will be reorganized as a standalone legal entity with enhanced operational independence, and working groups will be established along sectoral lines, with authority to draw ministry and agency personnel into collaborative structures. A unified investment platform integrating government service delivery systems is being implemented to streamline bureaucratic interactions. International financial institutions will be incorporated into the secretariat, formalizing their role in investment facilitation and capital mobilization.
More than forty investor proposals were reviewed during the current Council session. Areas flagged for legislative refinement include tax code durability, expanding the use of direct-effect laws, expanding private sector involvement in infrastructure procurement, corporate governance standards, and financial reporting alignment with international frameworks, as well as environmental, social, and governance (ESG) considerations.
Prior to the June session, President Shavkat Mirzieff held separate consultations with EBRD leadership, during which discussion centered on technological modernization of water supply systems, energy efficiency programming expansion, mortgage market deepening, free economic zone infrastructure, small and medium enterprise competitiveness support, and state-private partnerships in education and healthcare sectors. These thematic priorities underscore the government’s focus on translating investment inflows into measurable improvements in economic infrastructure and sectoral productivity.
Why this matters for international businesses
For international firms operating in construction, infrastructure development, manufacturing, interior design, materials supply, logistics, and hospitality sectors, Uzbekistan’s evolving investment climate carries immediate strategic implications. The $4.5 billion PPP pipeline alone creates substantial procurement and service delivery opportunities across project phases. Tax rate stability through 2028 provides medium-term financial predictability for long-cycle manufacturing and infrastructure investments. The systematic incorporation of international standards into legislative frameworks — particularly in corporate governance, environmental compliance, and financial reporting — reduces operational complexity for multinational operators. Equally significant, the demonstrated responsiveness of government institutions to investor-articulated concerns suggests a relatively efficient pathway for addressing business environment friction. For firms considering regional expansion or supply chain reconfiguration, Uzbekistan’s combination of strategic location, growing capital availability, regulatory trajectory, and institutional capacity increasingly merits detailed investment reconnaissance.
