TASHKENT, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Uzbekistan's President Shavkat Mirziyoyev has tasked the government with expanding export potential of the country, attracting more foreign investments and raising localization level of production processes in 2020, the president's press service said Wednesday.
"The export forecast is approved for a three-year period. The plan for 2020 is defined at a level that exceeds last year (results) by 22 percent," the press service said in a statement.
The Uzbek government has started using a new system for determining and monitoring forecast indicators this year to further increase export volumes, according to the statement.
"Thanks to measures taken ... the export performance of our country increased by 28 percent. The volume of regional industrial exports increased almost twice," it said.
During a government meeting, the Uzbek president instructed the Ministry of Investment and Foreign Trade to develop a roadmap to ensure full implementation of the export forecast for the current year, according to the press service.
Uzbekistan's leader has also noted the need to tap the country's potential effectively in such leading industries as textiles, horticulture, leather and shoe production, construction materials, and the automotive industry.
The Uzbek government has approved more than 1,500 projects to be implemented this year by attracting private and direct investments, including 7.1 billion U.S. dollars of foreign direct investment and loans, according to the report.
