Published: 2026-08-27
Dubai Chamber of Commerce has set up an Uzbekistan Business Council. The announcement came on 2026-08-26, after the council held its inaugural meeting at the headquarters of Dubai Chambers. The numbers behind the decision: non-oil trade between Dubai and Uzbekistan reached AED 10.3 billion in 2025, the number of active Uzbek companies registered as members of the chamber grew 21.3% year on year to 826 by the end of 2025, and a further 75 Uzbek companies joined in the first half of 2026. The council is chaired by Ulugbekhon Maksumov, Founder and CEO of Aksum Group, and will work alongside the more than 70 country business councils that already operate under the chamber. For Uzbek entrepreneurs who are opening or already running a company in Dubai, it creates a formal channel to the chamber, to Dubai counterparts and to bilateral business events.
What Dubai Chamber announced on 2026-08-26
The announcement was issued through the Emirates News Agency (WAM) and carried by Gulf Today and Zawya on the evening of 2026-08-26. The essentials:
- Dubai Chamber of Commerce, one of the three chambers operating under Dubai Chambers, has established the Uzbekistan Business Council.
- The stated purpose is to strengthen cooperation between the business communities of Dubai and Uzbekistan, support the growth of trade and investment, and expand collaboration across sectors.
- The inaugural meeting took place at the Dubai Chambers headquarters. Participants discussed new business opportunities, mutual investment, connections between Uzbek companies and their Dubai counterparts, the exchange of expertise and data, and the organisation of bilateral business events.
- Maha Al Gargawi, Vice President of Business Advocacy at Dubai Chambers, called the council “an important platform for strengthening trade and investment partnerships between Dubai and Uzbekistan”.
- Ulugbekhon Maksumov, Chairman of the council, described it as “a practical platform where entrepreneurs can connect with trusted partners, investors can discover new opportunities, and companies from both countries can grow together”.
The chamber did not publish the size of the council’s founding membership, its fee structure or an event calendar. Those details will follow from the council itself.
Dubai and Uzbekistan in numbers
The figures released with the announcement, together with the wider context from Dubai Chambers and the Uzbek government:
| Indicator | Value | Source and period |
|---|---|---|
| Non-oil trade, Dubai and Uzbekistan | AED 10.3 billion | Dubai Chambers, 2025 |
| Active Uzbek member companies of Dubai Chamber of Commerce | 826 | end of 2025, up 21.3% year on year |
| New Uzbek member companies | 75 | first half of 2026 |
| Country business councils under the chamber | 72 (plus 66 sector business groups) | chamber’s public listing, checked 2026-08-27 |
| Total active members of Dubai Chamber of Commerce | over 292,000 | end of 2025, up 13%; 72,000 joined in 2025 |
| Exports and re-exports by chamber members | AED 356 billion | 2025, up 15.1% |
| UAE project portfolio in Uzbekistan | USD 20 billion | Presidential administration of Uzbekistan, 2025-12-05 |
| Masdar projects completed in Uzbekistan | 6 projects, USD 1.5 billion | same source; a further USD 600 million plus under construction in Kashkadarya |
If none of the 826 companies left the register, the 75 new members of the first half of 2026 take the Uzbek business community in the chamber past 900 companies. That is a small share of the chamber’s total base, but the growth rate of 21.3% in 2025 is above the 13% growth of the chamber as a whole. For comparison, the Indian business community, the largest foreign one in the chamber, counted 85,841 active member companies at the end of June 2026, as we reported in our article on Dubai-India trade doubling to AED 222.5 billion.
How business councils at Dubai Chamber work
Business councils are one of two types of member bodies that operate under Dubai Chamber of Commerce. Business groups bring together companies from one sector, for example logistics or healthcare. Business councils represent the investor community of one nationality operating in the emirate. According to the chamber, the councils “work closely with the chamber to facilitate bilateral trade and investment between companies operating in Dubai and their counterparts in the countries represented by the councils”.
In practice a country council does four things:
- Gives its members a collective voice towards the chamber and, through the chamber’s Business Advocacy team, towards Dubai government entities on regulatory and practical issues.
- Organises networking, trade missions, roundtables and delegations in both directions, often together with the chamber’s international offices.
- Acts as the first point of contact for companies from the home country that are looking for partners, distributors or investors in Dubai.
- Feeds market data and member feedback into the chamber’s research and policy work.
The list of councils already includes Russian, Ukrainian, Georgian, Turkish, Indian, Pakistani and Chinese councils, among others. Uzbekistan is the first Central Asian country to get one, according to the chamber’s public listing. New councils and groups are established under a permit issued by Dubai Chambers, which regulates non-profit business associations in the emirate.
Why Uzbek companies are registering in Dubai
The membership figures reflect two flows. The first is trade: Uzbek exporters use Dubai as a re-export hub and sourcing base, and UAE goods and services flow the other way, which is what the AED 10.3 billion of non-oil trade measures. The second is investment and corporate presence. The UAE side is led by Abu Dhabi entities: at a meeting with Uzbekistan’s president on 2025-12-05, the UAE delegation headed by Minister of Energy and Infrastructure Suhail Al Mazrouei reviewed a project portfolio of USD 20 billion, with Masdar, Etihad Water and Electricity and TAQA Water Solutions among the companies involved. Masdar has completed six energy projects worth USD 1.5 billion in Uzbekistan and has started construction of solar and storage facilities in the Kashkadarya region worth more than USD 600 million.
The Uzbek side is mostly private companies that set up a Dubai entity to trade internationally, hold contracts in foreign currency, open a bank account with a UAE bank and obtain residence visas for owners and staff. A mainland company licensed by Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism is registered with Dubai Chamber of Commerce as part of the licensing process, which is why the chamber’s membership numbers are a good proxy for the number of Uzbek-owned businesses in the emirate. Free zone companies join the chamber voluntarily, usually when they need certificates of origin or want access to chamber events.
This is the same pattern that Dubai Chambers has been building with India, where two international offices and a series of investment roundtables produced 7,579 new Indian member companies in the first half of 2026, as described in our article on the Dubai Chambers mission to Bengaluru. A country business council is the local, member-driven half of that model.
What it means for an Uzbek company entering Dubai
The council does not change any licensing rules. What changes is the amount of structured support available to a company from Uzbekistan once it is registered in Dubai. A practical checklist for a founder planning the move:
- Choose the licensing route. A mainland licence gives access to the local market, government contracts and automatic chamber membership. A free zone licence is faster and cheaper for trading and holding structures, with 100% foreign ownership in both cases. Our guide to company setup in Dubai explains the trade-offs.
- Plan the bank account early. UAE banks apply enhanced due diligence to companies with Central Asian trade flows, so the business plan, contracts and source-of-funds documents should be ready before the licence is issued. See our page on corporate bank account opening in the UAE.
- Register with the chamber if you are in a free zone, and then apply to the Uzbekistan Business Council. Membership of a council is normally open to chamber members of the relevant nationality; the council will publish its own admission terms.
- Use the council for what it is designed for: introductions to Dubai distributors and investors, participation in delegations to Tashkent and back, and a channel to raise regulatory questions with the chamber’s Business Advocacy team.
- Keep the corporate file in order: Corporate Tax registration with the Federal Tax Authority, VAT registration once taxable supplies pass AED 375,000, and annual licence and Ejari renewals. Chamber membership does not replace any of these.
How Atlant Capital can help
Atlant Capital works with founders from Uzbekistan and the wider CIS who are opening a company in Dubai or restructuring an existing one. We handle the full sequence: selecting the licensing authority and activities, incorporation in a free zone or on the mainland, residence visas for shareholders and staff, and preparation of the file for a corporate bank account with a UAE bank. We also register companies with Dubai Chamber of Commerce, obtain certificates of origin and advise on which business councils and groups are worth joining for a specific trade flow. If your company already trades with the UAE and you want a Dubai entity to hold contracts and receive payments, contact us for a scoping call.
Conclusion
The Uzbekistan Business Council formalises a community that has been growing faster than the chamber as a whole: 826 active Uzbek member companies at the end of 2025, up 21.3%, plus 75 more in the first half of 2026, against a backdrop of AED 10.3 billion in non-oil trade between Dubai and Uzbekistan. For the UAE this is the Dubai, trade-led counterpart to the Abu Dhabi-led investment relationship with Tashkent, where the project portfolio stands at USD 20 billion. For an Uzbek business, the practical effect is a recognised platform inside the chamber that can be used from the first month of operations in Dubai.
FAQ
What is the Uzbekistan Business Council in Dubai?
It is a country business council established by Dubai Chamber of Commerce and announced on 2026-08-26. It represents Uzbek companies and investors operating in Dubai, works with the chamber to develop trade and investment between Dubai and Uzbekistan, and organises bilateral business events. Its chairman is Ulugbekhon Maksumov, Founder and CEO of Aksum Group. The inaugural meeting was held at the Dubai Chambers headquarters.
How much trade is there between Dubai and Uzbekistan?
Non-oil trade between Dubai and Uzbekistan reached AED 10.3 billion in 2025, according to Dubai Chambers. This is a Dubai-level figure and does not include Abu Dhabi-led investment projects, which Uzbekistan’s presidential administration valued at USD 20 billion in December 2025.
How many Uzbek companies are members of Dubai Chamber of Commerce?
826 active Uzbek member companies at the end of 2025, a 21.3% increase over 2024. A further 75 Uzbek companies joined the chamber in the first half of 2026. Mainland companies in Dubai are registered with the chamber as part of the licensing process; free zone companies can join voluntarily.
How can an Uzbek company join a business council in Dubai?
First the company needs a UAE licence, either mainland or free zone, and membership of Dubai Chamber of Commerce, which is automatic for mainland companies and by application for free zone companies. It can then apply to the relevant council. The Uzbekistan Business Council has not yet published its admission terms or fees; the chamber’s Business Advocacy team can direct applicants to the council’s secretariat.
