Uzbekistan is now the star of the region

I have been in Uzbekistan for about 21 years. There is a big difference between the first day we went and today. Especially since the period when President Mirziyayev became President, both economic and other relations have improved a lot. It's not as quiet as it used to be. It is increasing day by day. The warm friendship between the presidents of the two countries was also reflected in the economy. Both the businessmen coming to Türkiye from Uzbekistan and the businessmen going to Uzbekistan from Türkiye increased.

Especially construction materials, textile materials, paint-like products are sold a lot. In the first presidential meeting, the trade target was discussed as 5 billion dollars by the end of 2023. Later, we know that this target has reached the bar of 10 billion dollars.

Too many Uzbek business people buy supplies from Türkiye. In fact, many business people working in Uzbekistan are shopping with companies that they do not know in Türkiye. Especially in construction, textile, medicine and agriculture, Türkiye ranks first in Uzbekistan.

We are one of the first NGOs of Uzbekistan

I have been the chairman of the association for over a year. Associations do not have much authority and influence in Uzbekistan. These are noncommercial organizations. Our aim is to do things that will benefit both parties in good relations. We have 160 members. The distribution of these members is companies working in construction, textile, pharmaceutical, agriculture, livestock, greenhouse and sales of commercial materials. Founded in 1995, our association is one of the first NGOs in Uzbekistan. We try to include Uzbek business people in this organization as much as possible. We are trying to improve their commercial relations with Türkiye. We are interested in business people coming from Türkiye to do business in Uzbekistan. We work to expedite their company establishments and procedures. We tell about our past experiences in various meetings, we tell them what needs to be paid attention to. We have close contacts, especially with chambers of commerce. We have meetings with a chamber of commerce group coming from Türkiye almost every month.

Uzbekistan is the star of the region right now. New areas are being created in every subject and they are making serious progress. For this reason, they are making elbow contact with Türkiye on every issue. Big companies that do big business in Türkiye are hesitant to invest, thinking that the legal procedure in Uzbekistan is not fully settled and that there will be a problem later on. Therefore, we, as Türkiye, cannot show our real presence in Uzbekistan.

Uzbeks learn and become masters in a short time

The most skilled and talented people of the region are the Uzbeks. If you give them a job that they have never done in construction or textile, they learn quickly and become a master. This is worth considering. With our technical knowledge and their workforce, very successful works can be done, and business can be developed with the companies there. For example, they work in the companies of business people who have gone from Türkiye and open their own businesses.

I think that if companies related to infrastructure works in Uzbekistan go there, good things will happen. Electricity, water, gas, intercity roads. You are doing a construction, but it means nothing if it does not have gas, water and electricity.