Gebrüder Weiss opens a location in Tashkent, the Uzbek capital. Another piece in the mosaic for expanding the local presence in Central Asia.
The international transport and logistics company Gebrüder Weiss is continuing its path to becoming a Silk Road specialist. On July 30, 2019, the logistics company opened a representative office in the Uzbek capital, Tashkent. “This adds to our local presence in Central Asia, enabling us to pave the way for our customers to a promising market, as the links between Europe and Asia are becoming increasingly important,” says Thomas Moser, Director and Regional Manager Black Sea/CIS at Gebrüder Weiss. With a population of 30 million, Uzbekistan is one of the largest marketplaces in Central Asia.
The logistics company is regarded in the industry as a pioneer along the legendary trade route, and already has several of its own locations along the Silk Road – such as in Turkey, Georgia, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Russia, and China. The opening of the new office in Tashkent is another piece in the puzzle of the logistics company’s business strategy to expand the land route between Europe and China. Customers in Tashkent and the surrounding area will now be served by local staff. “In addition to land transport, air and sea freight also make up part of our service portfolio,” explains Thomas Moser. And these services are to be successively expanded. Organizationally speaking, the Uzbek representative office is assigned to the Gebrüder Weiss branch in Almaty, Kazakhstan.
From an economic point of view, the city of Tashkent with a population of two million is primarily known as an industrial city and transport hub on the Silk Road. Over 50 percent of the gross domestic product is generated by industrial companies in various sectors. Agriculture, construction, freight and passenger transport are some of the cornerstones of the economy, along with gas, oil, gold, and uranium. These mineral resources, textile and food products, and automobiles are some of the country’s most important export goods. Its largest foreign trade partners are Russia, China, and Kazakhstan.