Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) - Deputy Prime Minister - Minister of Investments and Foreign Trade of the Republic of Uzbekistan Sardor Umurzakov met with Vice President of the Republic of Turkey Fuat Oktay.

During the meeting, the sides discussed the current state and prospects for expanding multifaceted bilateral cooperation, as well as the implementation of the agreements reached during Fuat Oktay’s visit to Uzbekistan in June 20210.

The status of the implementation of joint projects and initiatives agreed upon the results of the 6th meeting of the Intergovernmental Commission on Trade and Economic Cooperation between Uzbekistan and Turkey (IGC) was studied. A commitment was expressed to close cooperation on the high-quality and timely implementation of existing agreements, as well as to improve the efficiency of the IGC.

The success achieved in deepening investment cooperation was emphasized: since 2016, the number of enterprises with Turkish capital established in Uzbekistan has doubled, and the volume of Turkish investments in the country’s economy has grown 10 times. During the meeting, the progress in the implementation of large joint investment projects was considered and further steps for their accelerated implementation were outlined.

Prospects for deepening industrial cooperation between the two countries were discussed. It was agreed that in the near future the parties will develop and approve a joint "roadmap" for the implementation of new projects in the fields of mechanical engineering, petrochemistry, electrical engineering, light industry, production of building materials and pharmaceuticals.

There was a positive dynamic in the development of trade between the two countries: for example, following the results of the last 5 years, the volume of mutual trade between Uzbekistan and Turkey has doubled, and since the beginning of this year it has increased by 70 percent. A common position was outlined on the need to bring the volume of the Uzbek-Turkish trade turnover to US$5 billion in the near future. In this vein, an agreement was reached to intensify work to complete the negotiation of the Agreement on Preferential Trade and the Agreement in the field of electronic commerce between Uzbekistan and Turkey.

Special attention was paid to measures to develop regional cooperation. An initiative to hold the Uzbek-Turkish Interregional Forum, which will serve as a platform for establishing economic ties between the regions of Uzbekistan and Turkey, was considered.

They also expressed mutual readiness to develop a joint program of cooperation in the investment, trade and economic, transport and logistics, information and communication, cultural and humanitarian spheres for the next three years.

As a result of the meeting, the priority tasks were identified for the promotion and implementation of agreed projects and initiatives within the framework of the discussed areas of cooperation.