Uzbek PM Abdulla Aripov to join ‘milestone’ 200-member delegation in Hong Kong

Uzbek Prime Minister Abdulla Aripov will visit Hong Kong two days after a 200-strong delegation from the Central Asian country arrived in the city via a charter flight on Monday to explore collaboration opportunities. It was understood that a high-level Hong Kong delegation will also visit Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan soon. Commissioner for Belt and Road Initiative Nicholas Ho Lik-chi said he was “very bullish” about the city’s relationship with Uzbekistan at a welcome event for the largest official delegation to visit the city yet, which he described as a “milestone”. “Central Asia is no longer unfamiliar to Hong Kong companies. Increasingly, Hong Kong companies are interested and excited to experience and to invest in the opportunities that Central Asia, and in particular Uzbekistan, has to offer,” Ho said. “Uzbekistan can be the hub for Hong Kong enterprises and Chinese companies to enter the Central Asian market and beyond. And in return, Hong Kong can be the hub for Uzbekistan companies, Central Asian companies to enter into the Greater Asian market.” Multiple attendees at the event, including Uzbek government officials, said the prime minister of the Central Asia country would arrive in the city on Wednesday and was due to meet Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu. Seminars would also be held that day exploring deeper collaboration between the two places, they said. Davron Vakhabov, chairman of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Uzbekistan, said enterprises from the country came on the trip to study opportunities to enter international markets. “The rapid development of Uzbekistan’s market encouraged [us] to actively engage in foreign economic activity, find new partners and expand [their geographical reach]. Today’s meeting serves exactly these goals,” he said. Vakhabov said the delegation was interested in exploring collaboration in re-exports, initial public offerings, the digital economy, tourism, green energy and sustainable development. Samandar Khayitov, general manager of Uzbek confectionery manufacturer Samella, said he joined the delegation with the goal to export his products such as organic chocolate and dried fruits to Hong Kong and mainland China by 2027. The company currently exports 30 per cent of its products to countries such as Russia, Afghanistan and the United Arab Emirates, and was looking to understand the business sector in Hong Kong and secure deals during the visit. Last August, Uzbek Deputy Prime Minister Jamshid Khodjaev visited Hong Kong and met Lee to “explore more cooperation opportunities”, with the city serving as a platform for the Belt and Road Initiative and the Central Asian nation as part of the scheme. The South China Morning Post earlier reported that Uzbekistan’s first tech unicorn, Uzum, was seeking a final pre-initial public offering funding round this year in Hong Kong, after raising US$70 million from Tencent Holdings months ago. Last month, the Federation of Hong Kong Industries signed a memorandum of understanding with Syrdarya Regional Chamber of Commerce and Industry Uzbekistan to foster exchanges in trade, economy and human resources development, among other areas. Uzbekistan will officially accede to the World Trade Organization by the end of 2026, with the manufacturing sector one of the pillars of the country’s economic growth and foreign direct investment, according to the Hong Kong Trade Development Council. It is the most populous country among Central Asia with more than 37 million people, or 46 per cent of the region’s total. According to the council, Uzbekistan is a rapidly growing manufacturing and logistics hub, ranking as Hong Kong’s third-largest trading partner in the region, accounting for 13.5 per cent of the city’s trade there.