The Tashkent International Investment Forum 2026 officially opened on Wednesday with an address by Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, who presented Uzbekistan as a fast-growing reform economy seeking deeper partnerships with global investors, financial institutions and regional allies.
Held under the theme “Investment Resilience: New Frontiers, New Partnerships”, the fifth edition of the forum brought together nearly 4,000 foreign guests from more than 100 countries, according to the president’s opening remarks. Senior officials from Albania, Russia, Belarus, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan were among those attending, alongside major international financial institutions.
Uzbekistan seeks to strengthen investor confidence
In his speech, Mirziyoyev said Uzbekistan remained open to investors interested in “equal and mutually beneficial partnership”, pointing to what he described as the growing international confidence in the country’s reforms.
The president said Uzbekistan had attracted more than USD 150 billion in foreign investment in recent years, including USD 123 billion over the past five years. He also highlighted last year’s 7.7 percent GDP growth, USD 43 billion in foreign investment and international reserves exceeding USD 70 billion.
For foreign readers, Uzbekistan is Central Asia’s most populous country and has become increasingly visible as a regional investment destination since launching broad economic reforms under Mirziyoyev. These reforms have included currency liberalisation, privatisation efforts, capital market development and a stronger push to attract international finance.
Tashkent International Investment Forum 2026 highlights legal reforms
A central announcement at the Tashkent International Investment Forum 2026 was the planned establishment of the Tashkent International Financial Centre.
According to Mirziyoyev, the centre will operate under a special legal regime based on English common law principles. Its legal foundations are to be set out in a dedicated constitutional law, while participants would benefit from a highly favourable tax system. Corporate income tax, VAT, property tax and customs duties are planned to be set at zero percent.
The president also promised guarantees for the free movement of capital and the ability to conduct transactions in any currency. An independent financial regulator and a Tashkent International Commercial Court, staffed by foreign judges and international experts, are also planned.
Mirziyoyev said Uzbekistan intended to join the United Nations Singapore Convention on Mediation, presenting the move as part of a broader effort to offer investors stronger international legal protection inside the country.
Capital markets, privatisation and Islamic finance
The Uzbek leader also placed strong emphasis on capital market development. He said Uzbekistan had placed bonds worth more than USD 16 billion on international markets and had introduced corporate Eurobonds denominated in the national currency.
He also referred to the listing of 30 percent of the National Investment Fund’s shares on the Tashkent and London stock exchanges, describing it as the largest IPO on the London Stock Exchange in the past five years.
Further reforms are planned through new laws on the capital market and alternative investment funds. Uzbekistan also intends to launch sovereign Islamic bonds, known as sukuk, as part of efforts to diversify investment flows.
This year, assets worth USD 6 billion are expected to be put up for auction under the privatisation programme, including real estate, state-owned stakes in companies and land plots.
Green energy, AI and regional connectivity
The president identified green energy and artificial intelligence as key future sectors. Uzbekistan aims to increase the share of green energy in total electricity generation to 54 percent in the coming years.
Mirziyoyev invited investors to take part in solar and wind projects, energy storage systems, grid modernisation and data centres powered by renewable energy. He also said foreign experts expected at least USD 10 billion in added value to be created in Uzbekistan’s artificial intelligence sector over the next five years.
A special zone for AI projects and data centres is being created in Karakalpakstan, where investors are promised tax and duty exemptions until 2040, state-financed infrastructure and a preferential electricity tariff.
Regional connectivity was another major focus. Mirziyoyev referred to the China–Kyrgyzstan–Uzbekistan railway, the Trans-Afghan Corridor and the Middle Corridor through the Caspian Sea as strategic routes linking Asia and Europe.
Tourism, housing and regional development
Uzbekistan’s demographic growth was also framed as an investment opportunity. The country’s population is approaching 40 million, and the government plans to raise the urbanisation rate from 51 percent to 65 percent by 2040.
The president said housing construction could provide a guaranteed market volume of at least USD 10 billion annually, while public-private partnership projects in infrastructure development worth USD 27 billion were also being prepared.
Tourism was presented as another growth driver. Mirziyoyev said foreign tourist arrivals had risen by 27 percent in the past five months, reaching 5.5 million, while Uzbekistan had the potential to welcome 15–20 million foreign tourists annually.
Concluding his speech, Mirziyoyev said investment was “far more than a source of capital”, describing it as a catalyst for technology, knowledge, jobs and development. His message at the Tashkent International Investment Forum 2026 was clear: Uzbekistan wants to position itself as one of Central Asia’s main gateways for international capital.
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Hungarian-Uzbek relations add a European dimension
The Tashkent International Investment Forum 2026 also has clear relevance for Hungary, as relations between Budapest and Tashkent have become increasingly active in recent years. In May 2025, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev and Prime Minister Viktor Orbán signed a joint declaration in Budapest establishing an expanded strategic partnership between Uzbekistan and Hungary, covering areas including climate policy, science and innovation, disaster management and peaceful nuclear cooperation.
Economic cooperation has also become more concrete. During the 2025 talks, the two sides discussed raising bilateral trade to EUR 500 million and preparing new investment projects worth EUR 1.5 billion. The Uzbek side also highlighted the entry of Hungary’s OTP Bank into the Uzbek financial market as an important signal for Hungarian and European businesses, while cooperation was discussed in transport infrastructure, logistics, textiles, construction materials, pharmaceuticals, digital technologies and aquaculture.
For Hungary, Uzbekistan is an increasingly important Central Asian partner and a potential gateway to wider regional markets, while Tashkent sees Budapest as a useful bridge to European investment, technology and regulatory know-how. This gives the Tashkent International Investment Forum 2026 an added Hungarian angle: the sectors promoted by Mirziyoyev in his opening speech — from finance and green energy to transport, agriculture and industrial production — broadly overlap with the areas in which Hungarian-Uzbek cooperation is already being expanded.
Uzbekistan is expected to maintain good relations with the new Hungarian government as well, since recent years have shown that it is worthwhile to maintain a very close relationship even despite such a great distance.
Reporting from the venue: Alpár Kató
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