The Forum was organized by the Youth Affairs Agency, Ministry of Investments, Foreign Trade of the Republic of Uzbekistan, and the Secretariat of Turkic Council. Brought together around 250 young entrepreneurs from the Turkic Council Member and Observer States, the event was also participated by the Ministers and delegations attending the 5th Meeting of the Ministers of Youth and Sports in of the Turkic Council.
At the opening ceremony Deputy Prime Minister for Investment and Foreign Economic Relations and Minister of Investments and Foreign Trade of the Republic of Uzbekistan H.E. Sardor Umurzakov outlined that the government and the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan H.E. Shavkat Mirziyoyev have paid special attention to supporting of youth in Uzbekistan and underlined that, during the last 5 years, unprecedented opportunities have been created for the young people in the country.
He informed that in the framework of the program "Youth is Our Future", which has been implemented from 2018, about 8,000 business projects of the young generation and more than $ 152 million in soft loans have been provided and 40,000 new jobs were created.
Briefing about Government’s current efforts towards supporting investment projects by young entrepreneurs, Deputy Prime Minister Umurzakov noted that 219 youth industrial and business zones and “Project Factories” were established in each city and district of Uzbekistan to encourage project initiatives of youngsters, and a Fund for Supporting Young Entrepreneurs in the amount of $ 100 million was established under the Ministry of Investment and Foreign Trade with the aim of financing projects in these zones on favorable terms.
H.E. S.Umurzakov proposed to create an online channel on social networks (TEDx Talks templates) in order to organize a motivational dialogue with the participation of successful entrepreneurs from the Turkic Council Member States.
Expressing the challenges of young entrepreneurs on realization of their projects, the Deputy Prime Minister stressed the necessity of creating financial assistance mechanism to startup projects within the Turkic Council.
In his opening speech, Turkic Council Secretary General Baghdad Amreyev noted that the initiative of organizing the 1st Young Entrepreneurs Forum in Tashkent was proposed by H.E. Shavkat Mirziyoyev, the President of Uzbekistan at the 7th Turkic Council Summit held in Baku in 2019.
Highlighting the essential role and contribution of youth in socio-economic development and building a welfare society in the Member States, Secretary General stated that Turkic Council objective is to promote trade, strengthen economic ties and increase investment between Turkic States with concrete and productive initiatives and develop joint projects in the upcoming period. He said Governments and Secretariat of Turkic Council stand ready to support these projects by all means, including financial support.
Director of the Youth Affairs Agency of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Mr. Alisher Sadullayev underlined that Uzbekistan pays great attention to the development of youth entrepreneurship and, while implementing its national youth policies, prioritized issues related to increasing employment and creating favorable conditions for young people to develop knowledge, skills and competences.
As a solid contribution to the outcome of the Forum, Director Sadullayev announced that Uzbekistan Government is ready to financially support young entrepreneurs from Turkic Council Member and Observer States aiming at implementing start-up projects in Uzbekistan, through issuing loans without tax and surety from the Fund for Supporting Young Entrepreneurs.
Noting about rich scientific, cultural and social renaissance created in Turkic region by our ancestors, the head Youth Affairs Agency stressed the necessity of establishing a new renaissance across the Turkic countries by transforming our youth with more emphasis on innovation, IT and entrepreneurship.
Minister of Information and Social Development of the Republic of Kazakhstan, H.E. Aida Balayeva urged members of the Turkic Council to seek for new instruments to the challenges caused by the global pandemic. Minister Balayeva highlighted seven directions of the youth policy within the framework of which the Turkic Speaking States can unite efforts.
In his remarks, Minister of Youth and Sports of the Republic of Azerbaijan H.E. Farid Gayibov expressed that launching such a new initiative in the field of youth within the Turkic Council will serve as a bridge for cooperation and form the basis of networking for young entrepreneurs. He suggested the young entrepreneurs to focus on developing joint start-up projects and attracting mutual investments.
Minister of Youth and Sports of the Republic of Turkey, Dr. Mehmet Muharrem Kasapoğlu underlined that entrepreneurship as one of the most popular concepts of the 21st century stands out among young people as both an important career opportunity and a strategic goal. He said that the Young Entrepreneurs Forum organized under the umbrella of the Turkic Council will lead to the establishment of new communication networks and the creation of new cooperation opportunities among the Member countries, as well as bring the potential of young people to the fore in the best way. This synergy builds the paths to success by sharing of good practices in the field of entrepreneurship, mobilize opportunities and creating networks among our young entrepreneurs.
Deputy Director of the State Agency on Youth Affairs, Physical Culture and Sports under the Ministry of Culture, Information, Sports and Youth Policy of the Kyrgyz Republic, Mr. Soiuzbek Nadyrbekov shared some of main objectives of youth cooperation within the framework of the Turkic Council, such as building an active social position of the young generation; creation of an effective model of interaction between youth public associations and organizations operating in the Member States; and formation of the foundations of legal, organizational, resource, information and other support for youth to participate in interstate cultural, scientific, educational, intellectual and sports programs.
Director General for Sports Diplomacy, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary, Mr. István Iglói-Nagy expressed that the Forum will play an important role in strengthening ties between young entrepreneurs from the Turkic Council region, and defining forms of new areas of cooperation.
Following the official remarks of the heads of delegations, the Forum followed by 5 special sessions on agribusiness and food industry, IT startups, light industry, tourism and marketing. The young entrepreneurs presented their ideas and projects, as well as held B2B meetings and fruitful discussions on their future business activities.
The Young entrepreneurs’ exhibition and B2B meetings were organized on 21 September 2021 in International Tashkent Hotel with the aim of encouraging entrepreneurship and trade among the Member States.
In addition, during the Forum the field visit program was organized to ” Yukori Chirchik District Agricultural Services Center (AKIS)” and “Mevali” company, Specialized IT School named after “Muhammad al-Khwarizmi”, “Yashnabad innovative technopark”.
The Young Entrepreneurs Forum achieved its goal by providing an integrated business environment where youth were able to innovate and create in a competitive business environment.
