§ Mr. DalyellTo ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement on his Department's efforts to promote trade between Britain and Uzbekistan. [36555]
§ Mr. NelsonPromotion of trade between the United Kingdom and Uzbekistan is spearheaded by a separate section in my Department dedicated to the southern republics of the former Soviet Union. Set up in 1993, following the break-up of the Soviet Union the previous year, the DTI's central Asia and Transcaucasia section is supported by an export promoter for central Asia seconded from the private sector. Its work is complemented by more specialist parts of the DTI such as the oil and gas projects and supplies office, which advises British companies on opportunities in the energy sector, and the projects export promotion division, which assists UK companies in their pursuit of capital projects overseas.
My Department's trade promotion effort for Uzbekistan is assisted by the Uzbek-British Trade and Industry Council, UBTIC, a high-level forum of senior business men and trade promotion officials from both sides, whose role is to facilitate bilateral trade and investment by British companies in Uzbekistan. The DTI provides two permanent members of UBTIC and also acts as the UK secretariat. UBTIC is chaired on the Uzbekistan side at deputy prime ministerial level while the UK chairman is Geoffrey Bray, a retired senior British business man and former chairman of the BSCC, previously the British Soviet Chamber of Commerce.
In addition to its day-to-day work advising British companies on business opportunities in Uzbekistan the DTI is actively involved in high profile events such as overseas trade missions, VIP inward visits and seminars and conferences. My right hon. Friend the Minister for Industry and Energy led a trade mission of 25 leading business men to Uzbekistan in May 1994. In March this year, my Department provided financial support to the BSCC's trade mission to Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. Last month, the Viscount Goschen, Minister for Aviation and Shipping, led a trade mission of British companies in the transport sector to Uzbekistan and elsewhere in central 41W Asia; the DTI, in conjunction with the British embassies in Tashkent and Almaty, provided the administrative and briefing support for this mission.
Here in the UK, the DTI supported the "Doing Business in Uzbekistan" conference in London organised by IBC Financial Focus and will provide support for a similar conference, also organised by IBC, next month. With a number of senior Uzbek Ministers and officials coming to the UK for the conference, the DTI hopes to organise the next meeting of the Uzbek-British Trade and Industry Council around that time. The DTI also supported seminars on central Asia at the Government office in Nottingham in June and at the London chamber of commerce and industry in July. The export promoter for central Asia spoke at both these events.
Officials in my Department are conscious that, while the overall level of UK trade with, and investment in, Uzbekistan is satisfactory, our commercial success there is largely attributable to the activities of just a few major companies. The DTI is accordingly reviewing its strategy for central Asia and Transcaucasia with a view to increasing the awareness among UK companies of the opportunities which exits both in Uzbekistan and elsewhere in the region.