09/04/2026 01:11 AST
Saudi investment in Uzbekistan has surged by 400 percent over the past five years, reaching $26 billion, as the Saudi-Uzbek Business Council intensifies efforts to expand bilateral partnerships.
The council is currently organizing field visits across the Kingdom to explore new investment opportunities and connect them with Uzbek counterparts, according to its CEO, Faisal Ba Abdullah, in remarks to Al-Eqtisadiah.
From $5bn in 2021 to $26bn today
Ba Abdullah said the two countries aim to raise total investments to $30 billion by the end of this year, up from just $200,000 in 2020, before rising sharply following $5 billion in agreements signed in 2021 to reach $26 billion today.
He added that bilateral trade volume reached $594 million last year. He further said that the council also conducted a tour covering Makkah, Jeddah, and Taif to identify investment opportunities across multiple sectors, while coordinating with local chambers of commerce to enhance regional participation in bilateral investment flows.
Focus on tourism and agriculture sectors
The CEO said the tour focused on a range of sectors, including tourism, agriculture, and food, as well as construction, information technology, finance, and other areas of mutual interest.
He further explained that the tour also included workshops for committee heads and investors to highlight investment opportunities in both countries, emphasizing that the council aims to activate joint investments, whether through Uzbek investors entering the Saudi market or Saudi investors expanding into Uzbekistan.
Ba Abdullah added that the council is currently prioritizing sectors of shared interest such as energy, agriculture, and food, along with textiles and tourism, as part of a strategy to deepen economic cooperation between the two sides.
He also indicated that a similar tour is expected to be conducted across other chambers of commerce in the Kingdom in the coming period.
On investment relations, he said the business council was established in 2021 and held its first joint meeting that same year, while the most recent meeting took place in October, with preparations underway to hold the seventh meeting in the Uzbek capital, Tashkent, later this year.
The CEO further noted that the council aims to increase total trade and investment flows between the two countries, supported by strategic partnerships with the Uzbek government, which views Saudi investors as trusted partners.
Saudi Arabia emerges as a priority for Uzbekistan's 2026 investments
Ba Abdullah said Uzbekistan began supporting companies seeking to invest abroad at the start of 2026, identifying Saudi Arabia as a key destination, prompting the council to step up visits across the Kingdom to showcase opportunities and attract investors.
In the same context, the council's CEO noted that a joint event is planned for the coming period, coinciding with a high-level Uzbek delegation visit. The event will include a roundtable bringing together companies from various sectors to strengthen investment partnerships.
He emphasized that Uzbek investments in Saudi Arabia remain limited but described this as "natural" given the relative newness of investment relations.
Ba Abdullah expects growth to accelerate in the coming period, driven by improvements in Uzbekistan's investment environment and government support for expansion.
Arab News
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