On July 5, the Press Service of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan hosted a briefing.

Presidential Press Secretary Sherzod Asadov briefly dwelled on the events of the past week.

As previously reported, on 28 June, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev chaired a meeting on further developing copper production and the creation of an industrial cluster.

The President pays special attention to the development of this sphere. According to international experts, global copper demand is expected to grow by 40 percent by 2030, driven by increased production of electric vehicles, electrical engineering and the development of renewable energy sources.

Uzbekistan has a great opportunity to take a dominant position in this market. New deposits are being discovered in the country as a result of the expansion in recent years of financing for geological exploration. To date, over 40 million tons of copper reserves have been discovered.

Most importantly, the President outlined the requirement that copper should not be sold simply as raw material, but processed into a value-added product.

About 60 percent of copper is exported as raw materials. Revenues from copper sales now account for $2.5 billion. With an increase in copper production to 400 thousand tons in the next 5 years, this figure, taking into account related industries, may reach $7-8 billion.

A copper industry cluster is being created by the Presidential resolution. It will cover all the processes from design to finished product manufacturing.

“The geological exploration will continue. At the meeting, the Leader of our country instructed to develop a five-year program to expand the exploration of non-ferrous and rare metals”, Presidential Press Secretary Sherzod Asadov said.

UzA