Uzbekistan's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) reached $115 billion in 2024, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev said at a meeting on attracting foreign investment, Gazeta.uz reports.
The country's economy grew by 6.5% compared to the 2023 level ($90.8 billion). GDP growth was also driven by a revision of data considering the "unobserved" economy.
The volume of attracted foreign investments increased 1.6 times, reaching an estimated $34.9 billion. According to official data, Uzbekistan launched 242 large and medium-sized projects with a total value of $10 billion.
For the first time, exports exceeded $27 billion.
In 50 districts, investments surpassed $100 million (compared to just 11 districts in 2023). In some areas of the country, including the cities of Namangan and Samarkand, investment volumes exceeded $300 million.
At the meeting, it was noted that in the mining, oil and gas, chemical, and agricultural industries, investment targets were exceeded by two times.
However, the textile industry underperformed by $17 million, while indicators in Uztransgaz and Uzmetkombinat declined by half, and in Uzsuvta'minot by 20%.
President Mirziyoyev strictly warned organization leaders that their performance would be evaluated if improvements were not ensured in the first quarter of 2025.
Mirziyoyev emphasized that the Ministries of Ecology and Agriculture of Uzbekistan, as well as the agencies for state assets, pharmaceuticals, and forestry, fulfilled their grant attraction plans by less than 25%. The Ministries of Construction, Transport, Culture, and Tourism attracted grants of less than $10 million.
The President of Uzbekistan also stated that from high-potential countries such as France, Japan, Italy, Hungary, Malaysia, and Spain, not even $100 million in investments were received last year.
Following the meeting, officials were instructed to develop a new package of projects for these districts and approve investment attraction plans of at least $100 million.
CentralasianLIGHT.org
January 16, 2025