Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- On 14 October, the work of the 8th Meeting of the official centers for foreign policy studies of member countries and observers of the Organization of Turkic States began in Tashkent at the Palace of Forums.

Addressing the participants of the Meeting, the Deputy Secretary General of the OTC Gismat Gozalov highlighted the process of expanding the OTC. According to him, Uzbekistan’s accession to the Organization "activated the development of cooperation in the most important areas of interaction within the framework of the OTC."

Commenting on the initiatives put forward by Uzbekistan at the OTC site, the Deputy Secretary General of the OTC focused on the implementation of the Tabarruk ziyorat projects, the introduction of e-TIR and e-Permit.

He said that "Tabarruk ziyorat" was discussed in detail at several meetings. The Road Map was adopted, an agreement was reached between Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan to launch a pilot project. "Its implementation will help develop the economy and tourism, as well as strengthen ties between countries and regions," he stressed.

-In order to introduce "e-TIR" in 2021, a pilot project was launched to digitalize customs procedures, a "green corridor" was opened between Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. In turn, the pilot project "ePermit" between Uzbekistan and Turkey will be presented at the upcoming meeting of transport ministers in Tashkent on 27-28 October 2022.

In conclusion, Gismat Gozalov stated that the forthcoming Samarkand summit of the heads of states of the OTC in November of this year, where it is supposed to adopt the Strategy of the Organization for 2022-2026 "will open new horizons for practical cooperation between our countries."

The expert meeting, organized for the first time in Uzbekistan by the Institute for Strategic and Interregional Studies under the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan, brought together over 60 prominent representatives of the leading think tanks of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkey, Hungary, as well as the OTC Secretariat.

Heads of transport and logistics companies, representatives of associations of international freight forwarders, road carriers, logistics, as well as profile scientists and specialists from universities of Uzbekistan, including the University of World Economy and Diplomacy, Tashkent State University of Oriental Studies, Tashkent State Transport University are also invited to participate in the forum.