Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- On 11 December 2020, in the format of a video conference, negotiations between the Deputy Prime Minister - Minister of Investments and Foreign Trade of the Republic of Uzbekistan Sardor Umurzakov with the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Italy Luigi Di Maio were held.

During the negotiations, the parties discussed the current agenda of Uzbek-Italian cooperation in trade, economic, cultural and humanitarian spheres, as well as the prospects for the development of industrial cooperation between the countries.

A positive assessment of the efficiency and growth rate of business partnership was given - the successful participation of Italian companies in the implementation of projects in Uzbekistan was noted, as well as the growing interest of representatives of Italian business in the implementation of new projects in various sectors of agriculture and industry.

Thus, the Italian company Danieli participated in the construction and equipping of the Tashkent Metallurgical Plant, and is currently implementing a project to create a casting and rolling complex in the city of Bekabad. In the field of agriculture, with the participation of Opera, a saffron plantation is being created, and in the field of building materials, in cooperation with Italmatec, panels are produced from marble, granite and limestone.

At the same time, it was noted that the interconnectedness of the economies of the two countries creates favorable conditions for expanding investment cooperation, through the development of additional projects focused on the creation of large industrial production. Chemical and petrochemical, textile, leather and footwear industries, energy and agriculture were identified as promising areas for the implementation of new projects.

An agreement was reached to create a mechanism for effective interaction to deepen bilateral business partnership, including by organizing mutual visits of business missions of the two countries and joint events with the participation of business circles.

Separately, the prospects for cooperation in the field of innovation and support of youth entrepreneurship were touched upon - the parties considered the possibilities of establishing practical interaction between the relevant ministries and departments of Uzbekistan with the National Innovation Fund of Italy, and in particular, the prospects for launching a joint program to support youth "startups" in Uzbekistan.

Following the talks, the parties stressed their bilateral commitment to consistent measures to expand effective cooperation in all areas discussed during the dialogue.