Uzbekistan's deputy minister of investment, industry and trade delivers remarks during the Uzbekistan-Korea Business Forum, hosted by Herald Media Group, at InterContinental Tashkent in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, on Tuesday. (Sanjay Kumar/The Korea Herald) TASHKENT, Uzbekistan — Uzbekistan's Deputy Minister of Investment, Industry and Trade on Tuesday urged South Korean companies to expand their presence in the Central Asian nation by taking advantage of economic reforms and new industrial and investment initiatives.Speaking at the Uzbekistan-Korea Business Forum, Ilzat Kasymov said the Uzbek government has eliminated more than 200 licensing and permit requirements, reduced taxes, liberalized the foreign exchange market, and simplified procedures for profit repatriation and business registration."I invite all Korean companies to implement their investment projects through these new platforms," Kasymov said.He also highlighted Uzbekistan's access to the European Union's GSP+ trade scheme, which allows more than 6,000 categories of products to enter EU markets duty-free.For Korean investors, the scheme can make Uzbekistan a manufacturing base for exports to Europe.Kasymov noted that more than 700 Korean-backed joint ventures operate in Uzbekistan, with companies including POSCO, Samsung, Lotte and Global Komsco active across multiple sectors.Uzbekistan aims to expand its economy to $180 billion by 2026 and $200 billion by 2030.Kasymov promoted tax and customs incentives available in free economic zones and highlighted Karakalpakstan's designation as a special development zone for data centers and cryptocurrency-related industries.The Uzbek government was working with Korean partners on a biotechnology cluster and a joint industrial zone with the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency, he said, hoping that the forum would help generate new investment projects and further strengthen economic ties between Uzbekistan and South Korea.