Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- On 21 April 2020, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Investments and Foreign Trade of the Republic of Uzbekistan Sardor Umurzakov held a video conference with the Minister of Commerce and Industry of the Republic of India Piyush Goyal.

The current state and prospects for the development of bilateral investment and trade and economic cooperation were discussed, including the adoption of joint measures to minimize the negative impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the level of trade between the two countries. In this context, mechanisms of interaction between the relevant ministries and departments of Uzbekistan and India have been worked out to remove quarantine restrictions to facilitate access to the markets of the two countries.

In this regard, the parties focused on issues related to the activities of the established Uzbek-Indian Committee for the Coordination and Promotion of the Practical Implementation of Bilateral Projects - during the conversation, a proposal was announced to hold the first meeting of the Committee in the near future in a video conference format. This format will make it possible to track the current state of implementation of joint initiatives, identify problematic issues and develop mechanisms for working together to resolve existing problems.

Moreover, in order to expand the scope of investment cooperation, the efforts of both parties will be synchronized in the development and coordination of specific investment proposals in the field of information technology, pharmaceuticals, textile production, agriculture, the production of building materials, as well as export contracts with the prospect of signing firm agreements between Uzbek and by Indian investors and partners during joint activities planned to be held after the improvement globally epidemiological situation.

Issues of financial and technical cooperation were also touched upon - joint activities of the ministries and departments of the two countries will be intensified with the involvement of leading Indian consultants to develop and coordinate technical and economic parameters of social and infrastructure projects, the financing of which is planned to be carried out at the expense of funds allocated by Eximbank of India. In addition, they discussed the possibility of attracting Indian grants for the implementation of small projects in the field of socio-economic development, in particular, by developing infrastructure in education, alternative energy, healthcare, agriculture and micro irrigation and other areas.

Special attention was paid to the development of cooperation in the transport and logistics sector - expert groups will be formed from among specialists in specialized structures to study the Indian experience in integrating international transport corridors into the system.

The work on the development of new projects and initiatives in the field of construction and reconstruction of the transport infrastructure of Uzbekistan will also be intensified.

The parties agreed to speed up the elaboration and approval at the expert level of the draft Agreement on mutual protection and promotion of investments and the Agreement on preferential trade in order to complete negotiations on these documents in the near future.

As a result of the videoconference, an agreement was reached on an ongoing basis to maintain close communication at the level of the heads of relevant ministries and departments, which will allow to quickly resolve issues of bilateral investment and trade and economic cooperation and to advance rapidly in the implementation of common projects and initiatives.