Under the chairmanship of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, a video conference meeting was held on July 17 to analyze the pace of economic growth in regions and sectors during the first half of the year and to discuss priority tasks for the remainder of the year.

The Head of State reported on the achieved results. In the first six months of this year, Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew by 6.4 percent. Industry increased by 7.8 percent, construction by 10.1 percent, services by 12.9 percent, and agriculture by 3.8 percent. Budget revenues reached 113 trillion soums, an increase of 14 percent.

Overall, since the beginning of the year, the value added created in the republic amounted to 567.4 trillion soums, or 45.1 billion dollars. This is the highest figure recorded to date.

During the past period, total capital investments amounted to 229 trillion soums, with 15.5 billion dollars in foreign investments. Investments in Andijan, Bulakbashi, Karakul, Karmana, Davlatabad districts, as well as the cities of Namangan and Samarkand, exceeded 100 million dollars, while investments in Sharaf-Rashidov, Farish, Yangin Namangan, and Ahangaran districts amounted to 70 million dollars.

Since the beginning of the year, 3,000 projects worth 3.5 billion dollars have been launched, creating 76,000 high-paying permanent jobs. 82 trillion soums in loans and 15.5 trillion soums in subsidies have been allocated for entrepreneurship, involving 600,000 people in business. Thanks to preferences and benefits, entrepreneurs have retained 56.3 trillion soums.

Reforms in the field of "green" energy have also begun to yield results. The 10 solar and wind power stations with a total capacity of 2.4 gigawatts that have been launched in the past six months have generated 1.6 billion kilowatt-hours of "green" energy. This has saved half a billion cubic meters of gas.

This year alone, 31.5 trillion soums have been allocated from the budget for the improvement of neighborhoods, infrastructure of kindergartens, schools, healthcare facilities, roads, and water and electricity supply. An additional 1.5 trillion soums will be allocated.

In the past six months, 18,600 new housing units have been built and commissioned. Approximately 7 trillion soums in mortgage loans have been allocated to 26,000 families. Subsidies totaling 545 billion soums have been provided to cover down payments and interest.

The Head of State emphasized the need to analyze existing problems and establish specific plans and tasks.

• Despite the challenging global situation, we are achieving concrete results on the path to sustainable economic growth. This is acknowledged by the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, heads of partner states, rating agencies, and major investors. However, it is useful today to identify shortcomings and set specific tasks for utilizing reserves, - said Shavkat Mirziyoyev.

The meeting primarily addressed issues related to the economy, finance, taxation, support for entrepreneurship, and poverty reduction.

As a result of experiments in Saykhunabad, Uych, Zarbdor, and Gijduvan, over the past six months more than 4,000 neighborhoods have been specialized in industry and agriculture, 1.6 million people have become officially employed, and 712,000 new income tax payers have emerged.

Measures were outlined to give these processes a new impetus. In particular, district hokims, bank managers, and neighborhood chairpersons will now sign a trilateral agreement on joint work. By December 1 of this year, based on the Saykhunabad experience, financial packages will be offered to households. This will ensure employment for 495,000 people. In the second half of the year, the "Family Entrepreneurship" program will be expanded by 1.5 times, with 4 trillion soums allocated for it.

According to the Uych experience, district hokims and bank managers will meet with entrepreneurs and help them expand their businesses. The hokim will address issues related to access to land, electricity, water, roads, and other infrastructure, while the bank will handle financing issues. This is expected to ensure employment for 670,000 people by the end of the year.

Based on the Gijduvan experience, high-rise industrial buildings will be constructed in 1,000 neighborhoods by the end of the year. These buildings will house businesses currently operating in households. Entrepreneurs working on the upper floors of these buildings will receive tax benefits, which will create conditions to move 140,000 jobs from the shadow sector.

Based on the Zarbdor experience, driver projects in industry, trade, services, and modern agricultural technologies will be implemented in districts. An additional 500 billion soums will be allocated for these projects this year, creating another 150,000 jobs.

The Prime Minister has been instructed to approve a plan to ensure employment for 2,416,000 people across districts by the end of the year, using the four experiences mentioned.

The issue of budget revenue was also reviewed. The importance of increasing tax revenues by assisting businesses and entrepreneurs and boosting their income was emphasized. Responsible officials were strictly warned against collecting payments and fees from entrepreneurs beyond the permissible limits.

Weak implementation of the privatization program and slow progress in reducing production costs at major enterprises were noted.

It was emphasized that now benefits and subsidies for entrepreneurs will be provided for one year with the condition of achieving target indicators; they will be extended or terminated based on results.

This year, regional enterprises produced goods worth 164 trillion soums. However, industrial production decreased in Kagan, Karauzyak, Zafarabad, and Mirzaabad districts. Responsible officials have been tasked with restoring full operations at 2,000 enterprises by the end of the year.

Disciplinary measures have been applied to 28 district and city hokims who have allowed systemic deficiencies in their activities. Hokims of Karauzyak, Takhiyatash, Uchkuduk, Tashkent, Furkat, Gurlen, Mirzaabad, Yangiyerik, Mingbulak districts, and the city of Gazgan have been removed from their positions.

The next items on the meeting agenda were issues related to transportation, communications, construction, housing, and communal services.

The issue of reducing construction costs was analyzed. It was noted that, in addition to land and building materials, project approval difficulties and obtaining special technical conditions impact costs. It was pointed out that the largest share in the shadow economy is related to construction.

Therefore, the Ministry of Construction has been tasked with updating all procedures that hinder entrepreneurship in this sector.

To improve quality and strengthen order, the State Construction and Housing Inspection will be transferred to government control, and its powers will be expanded. Penalties for construction without a permit or deviations from the project will be tightened.

The procedure for entrepreneurs to obtain technical conditions for connection to electricity and gas networks will be digitized. An automated system for selecting connection points will be implemented to eliminate the human factor.

In the Investment Program for this year, 20.5 trillion soums have been allocated for 1,896 projects. Specifically, it is planned to build and equip 618 schools, 176 kindergartens, 80 clinics, and 67 hospitals.

Plans include constructing 2,152 high-rise buildings, commissioning over 100,000 apartments, improving water supply for 570,000 hectares, and commissioning 13,000 kilometers of roads and 195 bridges.

The issues of fully implementing the electronic payment system in public transport and financing passenger transportation on a gross contract basis in all regional centers were also addressed.

The Head of State specifically discussed each of these areas and gave instructions to accelerate projects that are delayed. The President emphasized that people should feel the results of this socially significant work.

The meeting also discussed investment, export, and agriculture issues in detail.

In the past six months, 15.5 billion dollars in foreign investment have been invested in the economy, of which 14 billion dollars are direct investments. The President highlighted their effectiveness.

Each dollar of foreign investment created an average of three dollars in added value over three years. Or every 1,000 dollars of foreign investment increased tax revenue by an average of 600 dollars. However, this indicator is low in some sectors and regions.

Responsible officials have been instructed to carefully analyze the effectiveness of projects planned for the next year.

The need for the prompt installation and commissioning of 593 units of equipment worth 183 million dollars, which were imported last year, was emphasized. Measures to accelerate delayed investment projects and resolve their issues have been defined.

This year, 1.5 trillion sums have been allocated for the infrastructure of industrial zones. Additionally, banks have access to 650 million dollars from the Reconstruction and Development Fund and 1 billion dollars raised from abroad. The need for effective use of these funds and accelerating project implementation was noted.

Over the past six months, production within the localization program has increased by 34 percent. The task is to increase the share of domestic products in major investment projects.

In this regard, hakims of regions and sector leaders have been instructed to analyze 200 major projects worth 50 billion dollars in regions and develop a localization program for goods and services. The importance of activating the participation of regional enterprises in the cooperation portal was emphasized.

During the analysis of export rates, it was noted that industries and regions have exported goods worth 8.7 billion dollars. However, in 9 districts, exports have not reached even half of last year's level.

Recently, many countries have established tariff and non-tariff barriers to protect their domestic markets. Relevant ministries and agencies have been tasked with reaching agreements to mitigate these barriers.

In the first half of the year, the export of fruit, vegetable, and food products amounted to 910 million dollars. It was noted that there is a need to significantly increase the export of processed fruits and vegetables.

Currently, 382 projects aimed at increasing storage, sorting, and processing capacities have been launched. By the end of the year, it is planned to build 10 agrologistic centers and cold storage facilities with a capacity of 230,000 tons. As a result, the storage capacity for fruit and vegetable products will reach 63 percent.

The Head of State emphasized the necessity of creating new seed varieties to boost exports. The Ministry of Agriculture has been instructed to review the seed production system based on the experiences of China and Turkey and to expand the gene bank of crops.

A three-year program will be developed to create industrial orchards and vineyards on 75,000 hectares of inefficient orchards and 100,000 hectares of low-yield lands. Preferential loans for such orchards will be provided through the Agricultural Fund.

The meeting also addressed issues related to the financial stability of cotton-textile clusters. It was determined that the term of the preferential loan provided to them will be extended until April 1, 2025, and preferential loans for cotton purchases this year will be provided to spinning enterprises within the clusters. The status of economically inefficient clusters with high outstanding financial obligations will be reviewed.

To improve productivity, the task is to increase the level of mechanization in cotton cultivation and fruit and vegetable farming to 50 percent. To achieve this, farmers and dekhkans will receive an additional 6,500 units of machinery by the end of the year.

Reports were presented by the heads of Cabinet of Ministers complexes, ministers, and hokims. Plans for ensuring economic growth rates until the end of the year were discussed.