Minsk — Tashkent: vast range of possibilities

Initiatives of the 2nd Uzbek-Belarusian Women’s Business Forum revealed in the comments of the participants

Over 60 agreements, commercial contracts worth $50 million, along with arrangements for the creation of joint ventures — these are the main outcomes of the 2nd Uzbek-Belarusian Women’s Business Forum, which took place on August 26th-27th in Tashkent. The initiative to hold this event annually was proposed by the heads of the upper houses of parliaments. The Belarusian delegation at the forum was led by Natalya Kochanova, Chairperson of the Council of the Republic. In addition to purely business topics, the participants discussed issues related to the global agenda, women’s entrepreneurship and the friendship of peoples.

Official visit of Belarus' parliamentary delegation headed by Chairperson of the Council of the Republic Natalya Kochanova to Uzbekistan. A joint excursion with Chairperson of the Senate of the Oliy Majlis Tanzila Narbayeva

With care for the future of the planet

The stated theme of this year’s forum was the transition from traditional business to green business. In this regard, Belarus prepared a number of initiatives, thanks to which not only products, factories and enterprises will become more environmentally friendly, but also new social standards of human life will be formed. This will serve to strengthen environmental safety from man-made and natural phenomena and will have a beneficial effect on the environment, in which we and our children live. Thus, Belarus offered the Uzbek side to: 
— create an action plan for the development of green business. To this end, it is necessary to analyse the legislative framework and determine common strategic goals, as noted by Natalya Kochanova;
— introduce preferential tax regimes, favourable conditions for the purchase of products of joint Belarusian-Uzbek production, and a simplified procedure for certification of goods so as to stimulate green entrepreneurship;
— work on the creation of a biodesign farm laboratory that will focus on crop breeding and develop climate-adaptive technologies; 
— collaborate to enhance the quality of pharmaceuticals, drinking water and food, urban ecosystems, smart energy, housing standards and the spread of electric transport; 
— expand the practice of mutual exchanges and internships for students, teachers, specialists from various services and departments. 

Tashkent, Republic of Uzbekistan

Secrets behind a successful business 

About 40 percent of entrepreneurs in Belarus are women, as stated by Belarus’ First Deputy Prime Minister Nikolai Snopkov. In particular, women in our country hold almost half of all senior positions (46 percent). More than 70 percent of government employees are also women. “Many enterprises headed by women are founded on the principles of environmental friendliness, hence green principles, and social equality,” remarked the First Deputy Prime Minister. “According to a number of studies, 45 percent of female investors tend to invest to make the world a better place — that is, they are socially responsible, and their number is almost twice that of men. A successful business is the one that not only generates profit but also benefits society as its underlying principle.”  
Olga Shpilevskaya, Head of the Belarusian Women’s Union (BWU), holds a supportive stance and believes that women’s entrepreneurial activities often focus on addressing social problems, such as providing employment for vulnerable groups of the population, supporting environmentally friendly technologies and developing local communities. “The wing of women entrepreneurs within the BWU currently has about 500 participants, and they are truly active women leaders,” emphasised Olga Shpilevskaya. “This is clearly evidenced by the results of the 1st Belarusian-Uzbek Women’s Business Forum, during which co-operation in the field of woodworking was established, and contracts with Uzbek counterparts were signed. Thanks to this, our enterprise increased revenue — from August 2022 to July 2024 — by more than $150,000. There are cases of successful collaboration in the light industry. Thus, the import of cotton fabrics from Uzbekistan contributed to reducing the cost of finished products at one of the clothing manufacturing enterprises.”  

Mechanisms of ecological growth

Over the past five years, trade turnover between Belarus and Uzbekistan has grown by 2.4 times, with positive dynamics continuing following the first half of this year. Investment co-operation is also developing: in 2023, the volume of foreign direct investment from Uzbekistan into Belarus’ economy rose by more than 1.5 times compared to the level of 2022. 

“Our countries are interested in establishing modern high-tech enterprises, producing competitive goods, and developing new markets,” pointed out Belarus’ Economy Minister Yuri Chebotar. “All this requires additional investments in production. Belarus strives to create the most favourable conditions for investment by improving national legislation. The emphasis is on reducing costs in project implementation. We have also created effective tools to stimulate the transition from traditional business to green business.
• Firstly, our country has strict environmental regulations on the emission of pollutants into the environment.
• Secondly, incentives in the form of investment and tax deductions are provided for the implementation of projects aimed at the protection of ambient air and water bodies, the use of renewable energy sources, and waste disposal. 
• Thirdly, environmental projects can receive preferential financing from the Development Bank.
“In addition, a promising area, such as government green bonds, is being developed — in December 2022, the first issue for $73 million took place,” the minister added. “The Ministry of Economy is currently formulating recommendations for the implementation of ESG principles in the activities of business entities in order to provide methodological support to the real sector in this direction. Belarus and Uzbekistan should more actively implement their promising business ideas, create new ones and expand the existing co-operative ties between our states.” 

DIRECT SPEECH

Following the meeting with President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev, Chairperson of the Council of the Republic Natalya Kochanova summarised the results in a conversation with journalists, 
“Belarus and Uzbekistan are friendly countries, our peoples are close in spirit. Of course, our leaders set the tone for this friendship. Both the visit of our President to Uzbekistan, which took place in February 2024, and the signing of the co-operation roadmap for 2024-2025 have given a new impetus to our collaboration. We have discussed with the head of Uzbekistan issues of further interaction between the two countries within the framework of the agreements concluded. The role of Parliament in the implementation of these tasks is undoubtedly significant. The Council of the Republic and the Senate of Oliy Majlis are chambers of territorial representation; therefore, the question of regional co-operation was also discussed at the meeting. Friendship groups have been established between the parliaments of Belarus and Uzbekistan, but during the visit, we agreed to elevate our co-operation to a new level and create an Interparliamentary Commission on Co-operation.”

By Yulia Demeshko, Olga Anufrieva

Photos by Ivan Yarivanovich