Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- On 4 March 2021, as part of the stay of the government delegation of the Republic of Belarus in the Republic of Uzbekistan, the 1st meeting of the Uzbek-Belarusian Business Council was held in Tashkent.

The event was attended from the Belarusian side by Deputy Prime Minister A. Subbotin, Chairman of the Belarusian Chamber of Commerce and Industry V. Ulakhovich, heads of major Belarusian companies and industrial associations such as BelAZ, MAZ, MTZ, Minsk Motor plant "," Belfarmprom ", major universities and research institutes, and from the Uzbek side - Deputy Prime Minister - Minister of Investments and Foreign Trade S. Umurzakov, Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce A. Ikramov, heads of ministries, departments, industry associations and large industrial enterprises.

The heads of delegations of the two countries, speaking during the meeting, emphasized the high level and confidential nature of bilateral relations, as well as outlined broad prospects for the development of cooperation in the investment, industrial and trade-economic spheres and called on Uzbek and Belarusian companies to actively cooperate in order to increase the number of mutually beneficial joint investment projects and trade contracts.

The Belarusian side expressed confidence that the newly created Council will become a functional platform for the practical implementation of promising business ideas of entrepreneurs of the two countries and the establishment of close cooperation ties between individual industries and industrial enterprises, as well as a commitment to further provide comprehensive support to strengthen bilateral partnerships and the successful implementation of joint projects and initiatives.

The Uzbek side emphasized the significant potential and amount of unused reserves for the development of bilateral economic cooperation in a number of priority sectors, and expressed readiness for close cooperation in order to create favorable conditions for strengthening the positions of Belarusian business in Uzbekistan and building long-term ties between entrepreneurs of the two countries.

Belarusian companies were informed in detail about the investment potential of the Republic and the possibilities of cooperation in the fields of agriculture, information and communication technologies, healthcare and pharmaceuticals, education, light industry and other areas. The heads of the relevant ministries, departments, industry associations and private companies made presentations of the investment and industrial potential of each industry and presented specific promising project proposals, expressing their readiness for their detailed study with their Belarusian colleagues and potential partners.

According to the participants, the creation of the Council is an important step in the systematization of interaction between the business circles of the two countries and in the future can become a stable mechanism for strengthening and expanding the partnership between Uzbek and Belarusian entrepreneurs.

The participants of the event had the opportunity to comprehensively familiarize themselves with the conditions created in a particular sector for conducting investment and foreign trade activities in Uzbekistan, discuss common interests and prospects for cooperation and consider specific project proposals for further joint development. In order to discuss the practical aspects of further joint work in specific areas and projects, meetings were held in the G2B and B2B formats.

As a result of the event, a "Road Map" was signed to develop cooperation between the chambers of commerce and industry of the Republic of Uzbekistan and the Republic of Belarus for 2021-2022, which includes specific measures aimed at practical cooperation between the business communities of the two states, as well as a number of investment agreements and trade contracts.