Development finance assessment

Measures to increase the SDG alignment of private investment
Review the SDG alignment and coherence of the BITs and free trade agreements. 
UNCTAD’s ‘Investment Policy Framework for Sustainable Development’ (IPFSD) may 
provide a practical roadmap for enhancing the systemic consistency Uzbekistan’s BITs. 
Reviewing investment and trade agreements (global, regional or bilateral) are closely 
interconnected as they can mutually reinforce opportunities to integrate global value chains.
Mainstreaming ‘sustainable’ investment into the everyday work of its National Investment 
Promotion Agency.
The ongoing reforms in Uzbekistan’s Investment Promotion Strategy provide an 
opportunity to consider mainstreaming ‘sustainable’ investment into the everyday work 
of its National Investment Promotion Agency (IPA)
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. Unless environmental and social 
considerations are appropriately considered into the IPA’s investment facilitation, more FDI 
could become a step backward rather than forward. This entails defining and identifying the 
‘sustainable’ types of investment opportunities, according to an agreed set of sustainability 
criteria, to allow for targeted investment promotion activities. Relatedly, the GoU may 
consider evaluating the performance of its IPA not on the quantity of FDI attracted, but on its 
quality and nature. An excessive focus on the quantity of FDI may undermine the application 
of sustainability criteria to potential investors, which the IPA may perceive as a competitive 
disadvantage (Page, 2018). 
Set up a UN Global Compact Local Network to advance responsible business practices. 
Corporate sustainability starts with a company’s value system, and a principles-based 
approach to doing business. Through a UN Global Compact Local Network, the GoU can 
advance the Global Compact Initiative and its Ten Principles
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at the country level: these 
foster the business community to operate in ways that, at a minimum, meets fundamental 
responsibilities in the areas of human rights, labor, environment and anti-corruption. This 
would help companies understand what responsible business means and facilitate outreach, 
learning, policy dialogue, collective action and partnerships to put their sustainability 
commitments into action. By incorporating the Ten Principles into strategies, policies and 
procedures, and establishing a culture of integrity, companies are not only upholding their 
basic responsibilities to people and planet, but also setting the stage for long-term success.
The Principles can also support the GoU’s commitments to business integrity and a zero 
tolerance on corruption across its efforts to harness SDG-aligned private sector investment.