Saudi-Uzbek Committee Discusses Investment Opportunities Worth $31 Bn

Saudi Minister of Investment Engineer Khalid al-Falih and Uzbek Deputy Prime Minister Jamshid Khodjaev during the meeting of the Saudi-Uzbek Joint Committee (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Saudi Minister of Investment Engineer Khalid al-Falih and Uzbek Deputy Prime Minister Jamshid Khodjaev during the meeting of the Saudi-Uzbek Joint Committee (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Saudi-Uzbek Committee Discusses Investment Opportunities Worth $31 Bn

Saudi Minister of Investment Engineer Khalid al-Falih and Uzbek Deputy Prime Minister Jamshid Khodjaev during the meeting of the Saudi-Uzbek Joint Committee (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Saudi Minister of Investment Engineer Khalid al-Falih and Uzbek Deputy Prime Minister Jamshid Khodjaev during the meeting of the Saudi-Uzbek Joint Committee (Asharq Al-Awsat)

The Saudi-Uzbek Joint Committee is set to discuss 50 potential investment opportunities worth approximately $31 billion in Uzbekistan, Minister of Investment Khalid al-Falih has announced.

The Committee held its sixth meeting in Riyadh, chaired by Falih from the Saudi side and the Deputy Prime Minister, Jamshid Khodjaev, from the Uzbek side.

Falih pointed out that these projects aim to achieve the target of $110 billion in foreign investments within the goals of the Uzbekistan 2030 strategy.

The Saudi Minister emphasized the compatibility of economic goals through Uzbekistan's National Development Strategy 2023-2030, the Kingdom's Vision 2030, and the National Investment Strategy.

He also pledged full support for the efforts of the Saudi-Uzbek Business Council, which plays a crucial role in bringing together the private sectors of both countries.

The meeting aimed to identify specific areas of cooperation between the two countries.

The meeting discussed several topics related to developing bilateral cooperation in the economic, trade, and investment fields. It also reviewed the promising investment opportunities between the two countries and the business environment in both nations.

The meeting stressed the importance of strengthening joint work and pushing relations to new and promising horizons, boosting the economic and social partnership between the two countries and transferring it to a broader scope.

It also addressed the continued work to enable partnership between the private sector, encourage mutual investments, enhance trade exchange, and overcome any challenges facing the development of economic relations.

Furthermore, the two sides praised the joint projects and investments in energy, renewable energy, health, infrastructure, agriculture, and human resources development.

The meeting concluded with the signing of several memorandums of understanding between the private sectors of the two countries and the minutes of the sixth committee meeting that included multiple joint initiatives and work programs.



Russian Gunpowder Factory Attacked, Ukrainian Official Says

A man walks at the site of shelling, which local officials called a Ukrainian military strike, in Donetsk, Russian-controlled Ukraine, on January 10, 2025, amid the ongoing Russian-Ukrainian conflict. (Photo by STRINGER / AFP)
A man walks at the site of shelling, which local officials called a Ukrainian military strike, in Donetsk, Russian-controlled Ukraine, on January 10, 2025, amid the ongoing Russian-Ukrainian conflict. (Photo by STRINGER / AFP)
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Russian Gunpowder Factory Attacked, Ukrainian Official Says

A man walks at the site of shelling, which local officials called a Ukrainian military strike, in Donetsk, Russian-controlled Ukraine, on January 10, 2025, amid the ongoing Russian-Ukrainian conflict. (Photo by STRINGER / AFP)
A man walks at the site of shelling, which local officials called a Ukrainian military strike, in Donetsk, Russian-controlled Ukraine, on January 10, 2025, amid the ongoing Russian-Ukrainian conflict. (Photo by STRINGER / AFP)

A major Russian gunpowder factory in the Tambov region was attacked, a Ukrainian official said on Thursday, without directly claiming Ukrainian responsibility or specifying the consequences of the attack.

"The enterprise is one of the main suppliers of explosive materials for the army of the Russian Federation," Andriy Kovalenko, the head of Ukraine's Centre for Countering Disinformation, wrote on Telegram of the powder factory.

"With the start of the full-scale war in Ukraine, production at the plant increased significantly," he added, Reuters reported.

There was no immediate public comment from Russia on the attack on the factory.

Separately, Ukraine's military said it had hit the Liskinska oil depot in Russia's Voronezh region overnight.

"According to the available information, at least three strike drones hit the target. A large-scale fire broke out at the facility," a military statement on the Telegram app said.

Russian authorities had said earlier that debris from falling Ukrainian drones had caused a fire at the facility.

Ukraine and Russia have regularly attacked military production facilities deep inside each other's territory in the course of their war.