Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- On the eve of the visit of the President of Turkmenistan to the Republic of Uzbekistan, the first Uzbek-Turkmen interregional forum was held in Bukhara.

At the event, the delegations of the two countries were headed from the Uzbek side by Deputy Prime Minister - Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade Sardor Umurzakov, and from the Turkmen side - Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers Batyr Atdaev. The delegations included heads of ministries, departments, industry associations, commercial banks, chambers of commerce and industry, heads of local administrations and representatives of business circles from various regions of the two countries.

Addressing the participants of the event with a welcoming speech, the heads of delegations noted the growing dynamics of the partnership between Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, which is distinguished by depth and intensity. At the same time, the participants' attention was drawn to the presence of untapped reserves in a wide range of bilateral cooperation.

Stressing in this vein the importance of strengthening interregional ties and developing joint breakthrough initiatives, the parties expressed their readiness to implement joint practical measures to advance in this direction. The organization of regular mutual visits of leaders and business missions of the regions of the two countries will be arranged. In addition, it was announced that permanent working groups would be created between the regions, the task of which would be to develop new areas of cooperation, develop and coordinate promising projects, and interact in order to resolve all issues related to their implementation.

The forum participants focused on the most promising areas in terms of investment, industrial and trade cooperation: agriculture, automotive, chemical, textile, leather and footwear and electrical industries.

In the context of the development of interregional relations, the importance of the accelerated launch of border trade zones, the opening of trading houses and the implementation of joint projects aimed at creating high-tech industries was especially emphasized.

At the end of the speeches, the heads of delegations expressed their commitment to active interaction to strengthen direct contacts between the regions of Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, implement joint projects and search for new points of growth for interregional cooperation.

During the Forum, the heads of the chambers of commerce and industry, heads of regions and relevant departments of the two countries also spoke. The potential and prospects for expanding investment cooperation, as well as specific proposals regarding the organization of industrial cooperation between entrepreneurs from the regions of the two countries were presented.

In addition, on the sidelines of the event, targeted meetings of participants in the "B2G" and "B2B" formats, as well as the ceremony of signing bilateral documents, took place. As a result of the Forum, investment and trade agreements were signed for a total of $451 million.