The Role of Foreign Investment in the Development of the Activities of Special Economic Zones

This study explores the impact of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) on the development of Special Economic Zones (SEZs) in Samarkand and Urgut, Uzbekistan. Although SEZs are vital to driving economic growth in developing countries, the specific role of FDI, infrastructure, export performance, and government policies in Uzbekistan's SEZs is underexplored. Addressing this gap, a logistic regression model was applied to survey data from 100 participants, focusing on key variables like FDI inflows, infrastructure quality, and policy measures. Results reveal that FDI has the most significant positive influence on SEZ performance (β = 1.8), followed by export performance (β = 1.5), government policies (β = 1.2), and infrastructure quality (β = 0.9). These findings underscore the importance of enhancing foreign investment and infrastructure to sustain SEZ growth. The study recommends that the Uzbek government strengthen FDI attraction through improved infrastructure, investment incentives, and favorable policies, offering valuable insights for policy reforms and investment strategies to boost regional economic development.