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An Uzbek government delegation has travelled to Germany to examine how Berlin manages state-owned enterprises, public real estate and agricultural land, with the visit producing a commitment to sign a formal cooperation agreement in the near future.
On the first day of the programme, delegation members met Dr Christina Klass and GIZ project director Dr Berthold Vollberg at the German Federal Ministry of Finance. Discussions centred on Germany’s institutional framework for state asset management, the functioning of supervisory boards, and the division of responsibilities between state ownership functions and day-to-day enterprise management. The delegation also reviewed the principles of the German Corporate Governance Code (DCGK) and their potential application to Uzbekistan’s ongoing public-sector reform.
A separate session brought the delegation to the Federal Agency for Real Estate Tasks (BImA), where officials examined the agency’s organisational model and its approach to managing federal property holdings.
Transport Sector in Focus
Sohibjon Murodov, director of Uzbekistan’s Agency for State Asset Management, held dedicated talks with Dr Andreas Kerst, who heads the state-equity and shareholding division at Germany’s Federal Ministry of Transport. The German side presented its experience managing public stakes in major transport companies, including Deutsche Bahn AG and DB InfraGO AG, as well as enterprises covering road, water and rail transport, airports and road infrastructure.
The two sides discussed the transformation of state-owned transport companies, improvements to corporate governance, and ways to raise financial and operational performance. Toll-road management — covering operating models, financing structures and maintenance — was addressed as a distinct topic. The planned cooperation agreement is expected to cover reform of state transport enterprises, corporate governance development and specialist training.
Agricultural and Forest Land Management
The delegation also visited BVVG (Bodenverwertungs- und -verwaltungs GmbH), the German state company responsible for managing, leasing and privatising agricultural and forest land. Officials examined BVVG’s organisational structure, its working relationship with BImA and other public bodies, and its methods for land inventory, economic-potential assessment, leasing and open-tender sales.
The German model treats privatisation not as an end in itself but as one tool within a broader strategy of effective land stewardship, with rational land use, entrepreneurship development and long-term economic returns from public assets set as the overriding priorities. The Uzbek delegation expressed particular interest in BVVG’s digital land-management system, VESTA, studying its capabilities and practical application.
The visit, which was scheduled to run until 5 November, also included sessions on German practices in managing state real estate and organising privatisation processes. Uzbekistan’s agency intends to apply the knowledge gathered to further reform of the country’s state asset management system.