Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) - On 17 June 2022, an online conference was held on the topic: "Prospects for bilateral cooperation in the context of global instability", organized by the Institute for Strategic and Interregional Studies (ISMI) under the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan together with the Center for Analysis of International Relations of Azerbaijan.

The conference brought together a representative team of experts from leading think tanks, specialists from ministries and departments of Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan.

From the Uzbek side, experts from key analytical centers and ministries of the republic, including the Ministry of Investment and Foreign Trade, the Ministry of Transport, the Center for Economic Research and Reforms, the Institute for Forecasting and Macroeconomic Research, and the Information and Analytical Center for International Relations, made presentations.

From the Azerbaijani side, authoritative experts of the Center for Analysis of International Relations of Azerbaijan, the Baku International Center for Multiculturalism, the club of political scientists "South Caucasus", the portal "Azexport.az" and others took part.

past online conference made it possible to identify new growth points and development drivers in priority areas of cooperation.

The experts stated that the multifaceted interaction between our countries is stable, progressive and has entered the trajectory of sustainable development.

The participants of the event stressed that the key factor that made it possible to bring our relations to such a high level is a close and trusting dialogue between the leaders of Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan.

In this regard, confidence was expressed that the forthcoming visit of the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev to the Republic of Uzbekistan would give a new impetus to the development of friendly, fraternal relations, expand opportunities for promoting the Uzbek-Azerbaijani dialogue.

The experts pointed to the importance of using the full potential of cooperation between Tashkent and Baku in such areas as trade, transport, and industrial cooperation.

During the online conference, Azerbaijani experts shared their assessments of the state and prospects of bilateral relations in areas of mutual interest.

According to the chairman of the board of the Center for Analysis of International Relations of Azerbaijan F. Shafiyev, the steps taken by Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan contribute to the further development of cooperation in the field of trade, energy and transport.

In the context of growing restrictions and the actual closure of international transport arteries linking Europe and China, the issue of increasing cargo transportation through Central Asia, the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus and further to Europe is being actualized. In this regard, the expert states, transport is becoming an important area of interaction, including between Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan.

Supporting this point of view, I.Velizadeh, head of the political scientists’ club "South Caucasus", noted that today the countries are faced with the task of developing transport infrastructure, implementing common transport projects that will enhance the transit potential of our countries.

The Azerbaijani political scientist emphasized the importance of not only the functions of Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan as a communicator between the major economies of the Eurasian continent (China, the EU, other states), but also the direct links between our countries, which must be constantly filled with new content.

According to Velizadeh, active domestic and foreign economic policies of our states contribute to this. In particular, as the expert notes, both Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan are the initiators of new transport corridors. This provides conditions for attracting non-regional players to transport projects. This factor creates certain geo-economic advantages, stimulating the development of certain areas of the economy, the political scientist states.

At the same time, as the head of the Azexport.az portal A. Gadashov noted, import-export relations are dynamically developing between the two fraternal countries.

Over the past 5 years alone, the trade turnover between Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan has grown almost 7 times from US$17.1 million in 2016 to US$118.8 million in 2021. At the same time, exports have grown 5.8 times from US$13.1 million. to US$75.9 million, and imports 10 times from US$4.0 million to US$42.9 million. In January-May 2022, compared to the same period last year, the trade turnover between our countries continued to grow by 49.1% and amounted to US$66.4 million, exports increased by 70.7% to US$48.1 million, imports - by 11.9% and amounted to US$18.3 million.

According to the expert, there is a huge potential for further deepening economic cooperation between the two countries in the automotive industry, textile production, as well as in the field of electronic and household appliances.

Along with the development of political, trade and economic ties, senior consultant of the Baku International Center for Multiculturalism, political scientist T. Abbasov noted the importance of strengthening cultural and humanitarian ties between our peoples, who are bearers of the values of a single Turkic civilization.

In his opinion, the development of cultural and civilizational relations between our countries will further stimulate bilateral cooperation in the future.

In this regard, the Azerbaijani expert emphasized the importance of forming a single information space in order to bring prompt and objective information about joint plans for the future to the peoples of Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan.