The President of Uzbekistan held a video conference meeting focused on supporting entrepreneurship.

That is why supporting entrepreneurs should become the daily responsibility of all leaders—from the central apparatus to the grassroots levels,” stated the head of our state at the beginning of his speech.

Particular attention was drawn to the fact that local hokims need to engage more frequently with each entrepreneur, visit enterprises, and understand their challenges.

It was specifically noted that members of the Public Council for Supporting Entrepreneurs have become a bridge between the government and business, putting forward concrete proposals. As a result, only this year, 5 laws, 101 decrees, and resolutions have been adopted, which are extremely significant for the activities of entrepreneurs.

The President expressed deep gratitude to the council members and, through them, to the entire business community for their active participation.

It was highlighted that in recent years, the amount of money in our economy has increased, creating a solid foundation for sustainable financing of investment projects.

In particular, the funds of enterprises in banks have grown by 20 trillion sums, reaching 107 trillion sums. Population deposits have also increased by 25 trillion sums, totaling 105 trillion sums.

It was emphasized that this indicates the stable development of our banks, as well as the growing trust in them from the population and entrepreneurs.

By the end of the year, the total amount of loans issued will reach 275 trillion sums. By 2025, this figure is projected to exceed 300 trillion sums.

Special attention is being given to increasing the share of loans for small businesses from the current 28% to 40%, which will raise their volume to 120 trillion sums.

Based on the needs of entrepreneurs, our banks plan to attract 6 billion dollars from abroad by 2025 without state guarantees.

Thanks to the widespread implementation of factoring, services worth 100 million dollars have been provided this year alone.

A total of 35 trillion sums has been allocated for improving infrastructure facilities such as roads, water supply, electricity, gas, and railways this year. An additional 43 trillion sums is planned for next year.

To ensure stable energy supply to enterprises, electricity production has reached 82 billion kWh.

Due to the commissioning of new energy capacities based on “green” and advanced technologies, with a total cost of 6.3 billion dollars, approximately 90 billion kWh of electricity will be produced next year.

Work in this direction will continue: by 2025, within the framework of 25 projects worth 6.4 billion dollars, new capacities totaling 4.8 GW will be created.

It was noted that it is time to transition to a competitive market in the energy sector. Currently, there are 24 independent electricity producers in the country. For the first time, in 2025, an online wholesale electricity market will begin operating.

A significant amount of work has been done in the tourism sector. Thanks to investments from entrepreneurs totaling 6.5 trillion sums, hotels with a total capacity of 24,000 rooms have been commissioned.

Next year, the number of rooms will increase by another 30,000. Entrepreneurs are ready to invest 10 trillion sums in this.

Along with the 17 major trade and tourism complexes launched this year, 25 more will be added.

An agreement has been reached to start construction of a large center called “Sea Breeze” in the Bostanlyk district, costing 10 billion dollars.

Moreover, prestigious hotel brands such as Swissôtel, Sheraton, Ritz-Carlton, Novotel, Pullman, Marriott, ibis, and Mercure—23 brands in total—are entering our country.

To promote trade, a separate company has been established, and 350 million dollars has been allocated for export financing. As a result, for every dollar allocated, entrepreneurs have ensured exports worth 6 dollars.

Next year, an additional 300 million dollars will be allocated for these purposes.

This year, entrepreneurs acquired 3,000 state-owned properties and 4,000 hectares of land for 11.5 trillion sums, launching their businesses.

Next year, another 4,500 properties and 6,000 hectares of land will be offered to entrepreneurs.

There will be an expansion of private sector involvement in the repair and maintenance of roads that have long been under state monopoly. This year, private entrepreneurs were entrusted with the maintenance of 260 km of roads. Next year, this number will increase to 3,000 km.

Within the framework of the initiative budget, 92% of road repair work has been carried out by private contractors, and it is planned that this figure will reach 100%.

As part of a project involving the Asian Development Bank, local contractors will fully construct 841 km of roads in 86 districts.

In the railway sector, thanks to digitalization and improved operational efficiency, the delivery time for goods has been reduced by 40%.

Importantly, due to the increase in unloading time from 2 hours to 3 days at stations, entrepreneurs save 57 billion sums annually.

The role of the private sector in the aviation industry is also growing. Currently, the number of private airlines has reached 14. An additional 6 cargo and 16 passenger aircraft have been acquired.

The airports of Bukhara and Namangan have been transferred to private partnerships, and tenders for the airports of Andijan and Urgench are ongoing.

The President emphasized that to maintain the most convenient and attractive business climate in the region, a stable tax policy will continue.

In particular, despite the need to finance vital expenses, the rates for key taxes will remain unchanged, regardless of how important budget revenues may be.

Additionally, starting January 1, land or state property will be sold without VAT, and the excise tax (10%) on mobile communications will be abolished.

The collection of a land tax that is double the normal rate for agricultural lands located on the city borders will be suspended. Printing industry enterprises will be granted a 5-year exemption from profit tax.

Moreover, tax exemptions for IT park residents will be extended for all types of taxes until 2040.

Tax exemptions for private schools and kindergartens, as well as for foreign teachers and specialists, will be in effect until 2030.

During the meeting, it was noted that the process of joining the World Trade Organization is at its final stages. Agreements have been reached with major countries, such as the USA and China.

Despite the cancellation of privileges contrary to the rules of the World Trade Organization, it was emphasized that the state will continue to support entrepreneurs and create all necessary conditions for operating in a competitive environment.

This year, solutions to a number of issues related to border crossings with neighboring countries have been found.

In particular, the border posts “Khonobod,” “Mingtepa,” and “Korasu” in Andijan, which were closed for 13 years, have been restored, as well as “Uchkurgon,” which has not functioned for 8 years. As a result, the distance for the population and entrepreneurs has been reduced by 100 kilometers.

Overall, in the past 11 months, the number of vehicles crossing the border has increased by 400,000, reaching 3 million.

Next year, additional corridors will be built at the border posts “Gishtkuprik,” “Navoi,” “Dovut-ota,” “Shovot,” and “Gulbahor,” which will increase throughput by 5 times.

In general, despite the complex geopolitical situation, Uzbekistan's economy has grown by 6.3%, reaching 111 billion dollars.

38 billion dollars have been invested in the economy in industry, agriculture, and services, with exports exceeding 26 billion dollars.

In an open dialogue, many entrepreneurs expressed their readiness to take on social responsibility and provide jobs for those in need.

In a short period, entrepreneurs have provided income for 387,000 members of poor families and 40,000 people with disabilities.

The poverty rate in the country is expected to decrease to 9% by the end of the year.

“I am confident that if we continue our cooperation based on mutual trust at this pace, in the coming years we can reduce this figure to 6% without any issues,” said Shavkat Mirziyoyev.

“In this context, I express my sincere gratitude to all entrepreneurs who, fulfilling their promises, create thousands of jobs through new capacities, introduce modern technologies, capture new external markets, and make a worthy contribution to the sustainable growth of our economy,” said the President.

Next year, it is planned to increase the gross domestic product to 120 billion dollars, exports to 30 billion dollars, and investments to 42 billion dollars. Also in the plans is the creation of jobs for 5 million people and lifting 1.5 million people out of poverty.

This year, the number of taxpayers in the private sector has increased by 365,000. The next task is to increase their income and create conditions for a decent life.

However, in the private sector, 30% of workers officially earn less than 1 million sums. This problem is particularly acute in Karakalpakstan,