October 1, 2009
International conference "Uzbekistan and Europe: Opportunities and Prospects for Expansion of Economic partnership" was held on October, 1 at the Palais des Nations in Geneva with the participation of Doctor of Political Sciences Gulnara Karimova. The conference was the logical completion of informational roundtables series held during the second half of September in the largest European financial and economic centers - Vienna, Brussels and Milan. The event was a kind of platform for discussion of issues related to developing a new vision of the prospects for economic and investment cooperation between Uzbekistan and the EU.
The round table was structured in three thematic sessions, focussing on the Uzbek and European experience in diversification of national economies, the role of energy, transport and trade in their economic development and the investment opportunities Uzbekistan offers to European businesses.
One of the key initiatives met a considerable resonance was an idea, brought forward by Gulnara Karimova, aimed at establishing European Business Society in Uzbekistan which was widely received. This society could represent a non-profit organization that specializes in establishing and strengthening business relation in the field of investment between the EU and business community in Uzbekistan. In addition, representatives of European business circles paid their attention to the projects of transport logistics, renewable energy and energy-saving technologies, tourism, agricultural products processing.
From the Uzbek side the conference was organized by the Permanent Representative of the Republic of Uzbekistan to the United Nations Office and other International Organizations in Geneva with the support of the Center for Political Studies and the Fund Forum. The idea of the conference was supported by credible economic structures of the UN system: UNECE and UNCTAD and International Trade Center UNCTAD / WTO (ITC).
The conference was attended by more than hundred representatives of official, business and academic circles in Europe and the Middle East, as well as international organizations of the UN system. Permanent Representative of the Republic of Uzbekistan to the United Nations Office and other International Organizations in Geneva, UN Secretary General Deputy, UNECE Executive Secretary Mr. Jan Kubis and UNCTAD Secretary General Mr. Supachai Panitchpakdi opened the conference. Uzbekistan is also represented by the Ministry of Foreign Economic Relations, Investments and Trade, Ministry of Economy, Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Uzbekistan and the Uzbek Agency for Communications and Informatization of the Uzbekneftegaz national holding company, Uzbekenergo State Joint-Stock Company.
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