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.



Turkish Stocks Jump as PKK Disbandment Adds to Trade Relief

 People walk on a small street leads that to the historical Galata Tower in Istanbul, Türkiye, April 25, 2025. (Reuters)
People walk on a small street leads that to the historical Galata Tower in Istanbul, Türkiye, April 25, 2025. (Reuters)
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Turkish Stocks Jump as PKK Disbandment Adds to Trade Relief

 People walk on a small street leads that to the historical Galata Tower in Istanbul, Türkiye, April 25, 2025. (Reuters)
People walk on a small street leads that to the historical Galata Tower in Istanbul, Türkiye, April 25, 2025. (Reuters)

Turkish stocks jumped on Monday, bonds climbed and the lira rallied against the euro as news the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militant group was ending its four decade-long insurgency in the country added to US-China trade cheer.

Global share markets were enjoying a strong surge after the US and China agreed to slash tariffs, but Turkish equities outstripped most other bourses as they jumped more than 3%.

A PKK member said it was ceasing all military operations "immediately" following the group's decision to disband, a move that could boost NATO member Türkiye's political and economic stability.

The lira was up 1.3% against the euro and steady against the dollar, while its international market bonds, which have been losing ground for the last six months, were up nearly 0.7 cents.

The PKK decision followed an appeal from its jailed leader Abdullah Ocalan in February to disband. It is set to have far-reaching political and security consequences for the region, including in neighboring Iraq and also in Syria, where Kurdish forces are allied with US forces.

Omer Celik, spokesperson for President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's ruling AK Party, said the PKK's decision to dissolve was "an important step toward a terror-free Türkiye".

There have been intermittent peace efforts over the years, most notably a ceasefire between 2013 and 2015 that ultimately collapsed.

The PKK's move should now give Erdogan the opportunity to boost spending in the mainly Kurdish southeast of Türkiye, where the insurgency has handicapped the regional economy for decades.

Analysts welcomed the PKK move but added a note of caution.

"It can only be good news," said Christopher Granville, managing director of EMEA & Global Political Research at investment advisory firm TS Lombard. "But is it decisive for the difficult Turkish investment case?"

He said the PKK issue was ultimately "secondary" to questions about Türkiye's recent arrest of Erdogan's main political rival, Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, and the broader direction of its macroeconomic policy.

Those concerns have weighed on Turkish markets this year.

MSCI's Türkiye equities index is down more than 13% compared to a near 8% rise in its pan-emerging market index., while lira-denominated government bonds have cost investors more than 8% on a total returns basis.

The cost of insuring Ankara's government debt using Credit Default Swaps (CDS) has also shot up, although Monday's rally saw that ease back.

"A continuation of the pullback (in CDS levels) ... may support banking stocks, which have been the negatively differentiated sector in BIST (Turkish stocks index) in the last 2 months," Garanti BBVA Yatirim's Director Ozgur Yurtdasseven said.

Turkish banking stocks were up 3.8% on the day, but remain more than 16% down on the year in lira terms and more than 20% in dollar terms.