Conference in Geneva focuses on cooperation between Uzbekistan and Europe

January 17, 2012

Geneva’s Palais des Nations (Palace of Nations) on January 17 hosted a conference entitled “Uzbekistan and Europe: Prospects of Cooperation Development in Transport and Energy” organized by the Permanent Representative Office of Uzbekistan to the UN Office and other International Organizations at Geneva, the UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) and the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) as well as the Center for Political Studies and the Fund Forum.

The conference, which was attended by over 100 government officials and representatives of the business and academic community as well as UN agencies and the diplomatic corps in Geneva, consisted of a plenary session and two thematic sessions - “Uzbekistan as a gateway between Europe and Asia” and “Perspective directions of energy cooperation between Uzbekistan and Europe”.

The plenary session kicked off with a greeting speech by the Secretary General of UNCTAD, Petko Draganov, who said that the conference will become a crucial step in the further development of cooperation between Uzbekistan and European countries in transportation and energy. The conference participants representing Uzbekistan talked about the main macroeconomic indices, a favorable investment climate, the state of investment cooperation between Uzbekistan and foreign countries, Navoi Free Industrial and Economic Zone as well as the advantages of Uzbekistan’s location in the heart of land corridors that link major economic markets in Europe, South Asia and South-East Asia. Endowed with substantial deposits of natural gas, Uzbekistan may become a key partner for Europe, which is the world’s biggest market that consumes gas.

The first thematic session included presentations titled “Development of national transport communications in Uzbekistan”, their transit and international opportunities as well as a review of Navoi FIEZ. The presenters also talked about the international transport corridor “Uzbekistan-Turkmenistan-Iran-Oman-Qatar” and the prospects of transport cooperation between Uzbekistan and Europe as an important factor in encouraging international trade and economic growth.

The second thematic session focused on issues related to cooperation between Uzbekistan and Europe in energy: investment, technologies, raw material production and creation of new energy, oil and gas transporting facilities.

In sum, the exchange of opinions that took place during the conference demonstrated huge untapped potential in the development of cooperation between Uzbekistan and European countries in the area of transportation and energy. Several participants noted that the results Uzbekistan has achieved in the transport, communications as well as oil, gas and energy sectors create additional opportunities for European investors. In this context, the representatives of the UNECE and UNCTAD voiced a series of suggestions on boosting the effectiveness of Uzbekistan’s efforts in this area, including through joining UN conventions and programs that deal with transportation and energy.