Uzbekistan–US Business and Investment Council meeting in Samarkand yields $12 billion in new agreements

On October 19, Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev received US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Samarkand. Rubio was in Uzbekistan for the Central Asia–US (C5+1) ministerial meeting and the second meeting of the Uzbekistan–US Business and Investment Council, and conveyed greetings from President Donald Trump.

The Council meeting produced new agreements worth a total of $12 billion. It was noted that bilateral trade has grown 35 percent since the start of the year, and that joint projects are advancing in civil aviation, automotive manufacturing, mining, energy, agriculture, digitalisation and finance.

The sides discussed new opportunities in critical minerals, energy, transport, artificial intelligence and digital technologies. Tashkent already hosts Webster University, the American University of Technology and a competency centre affiliated with the Colorado School of Mines, while the number of American tourists visiting Uzbekistan is rising.