Uzbek-Turkmen Free Trade Zone Gains Momentum

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) — The Uzbek-Turkmen Free Trade Zone, launched during Turkmenistan President Serdar Berdimuhamedow’s state visit to Uzbekistan, is rapidly expanding, according to Uzbekistan’s Ministry of Investments, Industry, and Trade.

The zone provides unrestricted access for citizens of both countries and creates new conditions for increasing bilateral trade, promoting national products, and supporting entrepreneurship.

Operating normally, the trade zone hosts hundreds of shops, a customs post, and ensures uninterrupted movement of goods and visitors. Citizens of Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan can freely shop and access the zone’s full infrastructure, which includes a hostel, a 115-seat canteen, a medical center, a hair salon, an indoor shopping pavilion with 118 stores, 50 service points, and parking for 300 vehicles.

The zone also features quarantine, veterinary, and phytosanitary facilities, a branch of the National Bank, and warehouse spaces.

Officials described the launch as a significant step toward expanding cross-border trade and strengthening economic cooperation between the two countries. The new trade center is expected to boost mutual trade, support domestic products, and foster entrepreneurship on both sides of the border, opening new opportunities for business activity.