Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- On 17 June 2020, expanded Uzbek-Russian intergovernmental negotiations took place under the chairmanship of Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Uzbekistan Sardor Umurzakov and Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Alexey Overchuk.

The event, dedicated to discussing the current state and prospects for the development of multifaceted bilateral cooperation, was also attended by heads of key ministries and departments of the two countries.

It was emphasized that, thanks to regular dialogue, both at the highest and at the governmental levels, the strategic relations between the countries acquired a systemic character, which made it possible to achieve significant progress in all areas of partnership.

Success was noted in the field of industrial cooperation - a joint Roadmap was agreed upon to deepen industrial cooperation, which provides for the implementation of a number of new projects in the agro-industrial complex, light industry, the electrical industry, energy, automotive, oil and gas, woodworking, and agriculture. The negotiation format, which implies direct contact between the relevant departments of the two countries, allowed us to quickly consider a number of topical issues in each of the promising areas of cooperation.

So, in particular, taking into account available resources, the possibilities of creating agro-industrial clusters in the territory of both countries, providing for the full cycle of production of sunflower oil, meat and dairy products, production and processing of agricultural products, were studied. In addition, a number of initiatives to create joint ventures in the field of production of yarn, fabrics, finishing materials and knitwear, harvesting and processing of wood, production of electrical products and cars were considered.

An agreement was reached to accelerate the implementation of agreed projects and initiatives with a monthly review of their implementation and informing the business community of Uzbekistan and Russia about the opportunities available to build up investment partnerships and mechanisms for increasing bilateral trade.

The issues of cooperation in the field of logistics were also touched upon: the prospects of creating joint freight forwarding enterprises, logistics and wholesale distribution centers for storage and transportation of fruit and vegetable products in both countries were discussed. The creation of such centers, in the general opinion of the parties, will significantly reduce transport costs, ensure the accelerated delivery of goods from the manufacturer to the final consumer while maintaining quality, which will significantly contribute to the further increase in trade between Uzbekistan and Russia.

At the end of the negotiations, the parties emphasized their strong mutual intentions to continue to comprehensively study the promising points of growth of investment and trade-economic cooperation and to jointly ensure high-quality and timely implementation of the agreements reached.