Uzbekistan’s Central Bank held discussions with representatives of Visa, Nasdaq, Citi, StoneX and Franklin Templeton on developing the country’s financial markets, expanding digital payments and attracting international investment.
The meetings took place on October 19 in Samarkand as part of the Uzbekistan–US Business and Investment Council. The Central Bank announced the discussions on October 21.
The talks covered improvements to financial market infrastructure, international reserves management and mechanisms for mitigating financial risks. The participants also discussed digital payments, cybersecurity, open banking and improvements to the operations of the Central Securities Depository.
The parties agreed to outline further steps to continue cooperation in these areas. However, no specific projects, investment amounts or implementation timelines have been announced so far.
A dedicated session on finance and investment was also held as part of the council’s activities. It was co-chaired by the Central Bank of Uzbekistan and the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC).
Participants discussed Uzbekistan’s economic outlook, the privatization of state-owned assets and the country’s key investment priorities. Potential cooperation could help modernize Uzbekistan’s financial market infrastructure, accelerate the digitalization of financial services and make the domestic market more attractive to international investors. However, the practical impact will depend on whether the discussions lead to concrete projects and implementation measures.
