Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- On 23 June 2020, Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Uzbekistan Sardor Umurzakov held a series of bilateral meetings with the Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Alexei Overchuk, Minister of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation, as part of a working visit to Moscow Federation Denis Manturov and Minister of Economic Development of the Russian Federation Maxim Reshetnikov, during which they discussed current areas of deepening bilateral trade, economic, investment and transport and logistics cooperation.

During the meetings, it was repeatedly noted that the ministries and departments of both countries are actively working on new areas of economic partnership discussed during the negotiations held earlier, and also emphasized the firm commitment of the parties to expeditiously complete the coordination of all available issues in order to reach the shortest possible time specific agreements, bearing in mind the implementation of joint investment projects and the conclusion of mutually beneficial trade agreements.

A high degree of diversification of the economies of the two countries was noted, which creates great opportunities for establishing cooperative ties in all areas. It was noted that Russia is one of the largest investors in the economy of Uzbekistan, over a long period of time maintaining the steadily growing dynamics of an increase in the number of enterprises in the Republic with the participation of Russian capital.

In 2019, Uzbekistan used US$1.3 billion of Russian investments (of which direct - US$650 million), and in the first quarter of 2020 - US$329.5 million. In general, US$1.5 billion of Russian investments is expected to be disbursed in 2020.

An agreement was reached to accelerate the coordination of projects under development in the field of industrial cooperation with the identification of specific initiators and terms of implementation. Also, work will continue to study new project proposals in the agro-industrial complex, light industry, electrical engineering, energy, automotive, oil and gas, woodworking and agriculture, with the prospect of their inclusion in the joint Road Map to deepen industrial cooperation.

The issues of holding the 21st meeting of the Intergovernmental Commission on Bilateral Cooperation were discussed. The goal of joint work in this direction will be the formation and preparation for signing a package of solid mutually beneficial investment and trade agreements.

At the same time, it was agreed that special emphasis will be placed on strengthening interregional cooperation as an effective mechanism for investment partnerships, increasing trade and enhancing cultural and humanitarian cooperation. In this context, issues of interaction within the framework of joint preparation for the II Forum of interregional cooperation, as well as the National exhibition of products “Made in Uzbekistan” in Moscow were touched upon.

Particular attention was paid to the development and implementation of practical measures to expand trade and economic cooperation, with a view to increasing mutual trade by increasing the supply of Russian and Uzbek products to the markets of the two states.

In 2019, the volume of mutual trade made up US$6.63 billion, an increase of 15.6% compared to the previous year.

The Russian side emphasized that the active joint work of the relevant ministries and departments of both countries to strengthen positive trends in trade will make it possible to increase the volume of trade to US$10 billion in the near future.

Significant potential for cooperation was noted in the field of customs regulation, the development of customs infrastructure, as well as the harmonization of certification standards and metrology, which is also important for the dynamic growth of trade between the two countries. They also discussed the possibilities of practical cooperation to modernize the system of testing and metrology laboratories in Uzbekistan, as well as the opening of accredited units of Russian laboratories for monitoring the quality of agricultural products in the Republic to increase the supply of products from Uzbekistan to Russia.

They also discussed the initiative to open a multifunctional migration center in Uzbekistan, which will serve as the operator of organized employment of citizens of Uzbekistan in the Russian Federation through direct interaction with the regions of Russia and major Russian employers.

As a result of the negotiations, the format and procedure for systemic cooperation between the Ministry of Investment and Foreign Trade of the Republic of Uzbekistan, the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation and the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation were determined.

The overall priority was the completion of the coordination of the list of new investment projects and trade agreements, as well as the development of a set of measures to further strengthen economic cooperation between the two countries.