Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- On 17 February, as part of the visit of the government delegation of the Republic of Uzbekistan to Hungary, the Uzbek-Hungarian Business Forum was held in Budapest, which brought together a number of representatives of business circles of the two countries.

The opening ceremony was attended by Deputy Prime Minister - Minister of Investments and Foreign Trade of the Republic of Uzbekistan Sardor Umurzakov and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary Péter Szijjártó

The key topic of the event was the issues of strengthening bilateral ties between the business communities of the two countries, as a decisive factor in the further development of investment and trade and economic Uzbek-Hungarian cooperation.

Opening the event, Szijjártó emphasized the positive dynamics of the development of relations between the two countries and the special attention paid by the Hungarian government to the consistent expansion of economic partnership in priority directions for both countries, and also called on Hungarian companies to intensify interaction with Uzbek entrepreneurs.

During his speech, the head of the Uzbek delegation also noted the importance of enhancing business contacts between the two countries, while guaranteeing comprehensive state support in the implementation of all joint projects and initiatives and assuring potential Hungarian investors and trading partners of the commitment of the Uzbek government to the accelerated development of Uzbek-Hungarian business cooperation.

Hungarian companies were provided with detailed information on the ongoing work to ensure openness and increase the attractiveness of Uzbekistan for foreign investors, measures taken to create a transparent business environment, counter corruption, improve the investment climate and gradually reduce the role of the state in the economy. Investment opportunities in such promising areas as agriculture, pharmaceuticals, light industry, food industry, information and communication technologies and the banking and financial sector were also deeply disclosed.

During the business forum, G2B and B2B meetings were also organized between the heads of ministries, departments, industry associations and leading companies of Uzbekistan and Hungary, where the participants were able to substantively discuss the creation of joint ventures and the conclusion of mutually beneficial trade agreements.

As a result of the event, a number of bilateral agreements were signed on the implementation of 12 investment projects in various regions of Uzbekistan in the fields of poultry farming, fish farming, animal husbandry and the food industry. In addition, further joint development of 76 new promising investment projects was agreed, of which partners from the Uzbek and Hungarian sides have already been identified for 26 projects, and substantive negotiations are underway.

Also, an agreement on cooperation was signed between the Export Promotion Agency under the Ministry of Investment and Foreign Trade of the Republic of Uzbekistan and the Hungarian Trade Development Agency, an agreement on cooperation between the Association of Private Tourism Organizations of Uzbekistan (APTO) and the Association of Hungarian Travel Agencies and Tour Operators of Hungary to increase the volume of mutual tourism flows, as well as an agreement on cooperation between the Agency for the Development of the Pharmaceutical Industry of the Republic of Uzbekistan and the Pharmacological Cluster of Hungary to improve the education system in the field of pharmaceuticals.