A French International Trade magazine, “Le Moci”, has published an article about Uzbekistan.

The article by Bruno Mouly tells about French companies that have recently begun actively entering the Uzbekistan market.

According to the author, since 2019, large groups of French companies have been signing contracts for consultations and expertise with Uzbekistan government organizations and companies.

It is noted that Carrefour opens two supermarkets one after the other in Tashkent (January 14 and 21), after it launched its first store in the city of Tashkent on December 24, marking the arrival of the first major international distributor in Uzbekistan and even throughout Central Asia.

As noted in the article, the French brand will open five supermarkets and two hypermarkets in Tashkent by 2022 through the franchising of the Emirati group Majid al Futtaim, specializing in retail trade, shopping, and entertainment centers. 

On 9 December last year, SEMMARIS (Mixed Economy Company for Development and Management of Rungis National Interest Market) signed a framework agreement with Uzbekistan to create a network of wholesale fruit and vegetable markets, primarily in the cities of Tashkent, Samarkand and Andijan, with virtual participation of the Minister of Agriculture of Uzbekistan and Minister Delegate for Foreign Trade and Economic Attractiveness of France, Franck Riester.

The future network of agro-logistics infrastructures is designed to process 3 million tons of fruits and vegetables per year and should help structure Uzbekistan’s agricultural sector.

The author of the article emphasizes that with the coming to power in late 2016 of Shavkat Mirziyoyev in the most populous country in Central Asia, it has radically changed course to free itself from the post-Soviet and protectionist governance of its economy.

President Shavkat Mirziyoyev has revived the national economy by opening it up to international investment and foreign capital through the privatization of the entire sectors of the economy. All eyes were on Uzbekistan, which will undoubtedly become the center of gravity for Central Asia. And his strategy is attracting foreign investors, especially from France.

The article states the opinion of Pierre Dirrig, Advisor for French Foreign Trade and French-Uzbek Business Club Secretariat, who notes that French companies have advantages in providing advice and expertise on long-term projects among all the foreign companies, Chinese, Russian, Turkish, German, Italian and others, which are currently developing in the country.

Large French groups of companies are well aware of this and have been concluding contracts since 2019.

Thus, in June 2020, SUEZ signed a contract worth 142 million euros for a period of 7 years with Tashkent City Hokimiyat and the Ministry of Housing and Communal Services for modernization of water supply and sanitation networks in Tashkent and support the state company Toshkent Shahar Suv Ta’minoti in optimizing the management of these networks under international standards.

In September 2019, Total Eren signed a 25-year contract for power purchase and an agreement on state support for the launching of its first solar power plant project.

The 100 MW power plant will be located in Samarkand region and generate the equivalent of electricity consumption for 150,000 residents. 

The author of the article says that this first large-scale renewable energy and the first public-private partnership project in Uzbekistan is a good argument for French businesspeople.

In September 2019, Assystem and the Ministry of Energy of Uzbekistan also announced the creation of a joint venture to cooperate in the implementation of the country’s energy transition.

Assystem will have to help develop, coordinate and manage projects enabling the implementation of the country’s new energy balance.

According to Bruno Mouly, in 2019, Orano established a partnership with the State Committee for Geology and Mineral Resources to develop mining exploration and production of uranium in Uzbekistan. The two partners have created a joint venture, 51% of which is owned by Orano, and 49% by the State Committee for Geology and Mineral Resources.

The author of the article emphasizes that in the future, French companies will not lack opportunities to transfer knowledge and experience on long-term projects in promising sectors such as agriculture, energy, minerals, retail, as well as tourism infrastructure. 

As Bruno Mouly notes, this is evidenced by the creation of Resort International Hotel in the mountains within the framework of the Beldersay-Chimgan-Nanay project. The project is sponsored by a consortium of French companies Orex Loisirs, Compagnie des Alpes, Geode, and Egis.

UzA