The 6 percent GDP growth is expected to be driven by an increase in industrial production by 7 percent, services by 6.5 percent, construction by 8.1 percent, agriculture by 3.3 percent.

The Central Asian country makes efforts to improve its investment climate after more than two decades of economic isolation that kept foreign private businesses at a distance. President Shavkat Mirziyoyev made the attraction of foreign investors one of the top priorities of his ambitious reform agenda.

SMEs in Uzbekistan account for over half of the gross domestic product (GDP) and provide about two-thirds of formal and informal jobs.

Uzbekistan, a double-landlocked country with almost 35 million people, has been actively promoting the South and Central Asia rail link that will go through its war-torn neighbour Afghanistan, giving it access to the ports of Karachi, Gwadar and Qasim.

Samarkand’s rich history, architecture, and culture earned it a place on UNESCO’s World Heritage List as ‘Samarkand – Crossroads of Cultures’ in 2001.