Uzbekistan and Syria strengthen trade ties: Damascus market opens to Uzbek entrepreneurs

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) — Uzbekistan and Syria are taking steps to deepen trade and economic cooperation. On 28 December, Davron Vakhabov, Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Uzbekistan, and Ayubkhon Yunusov, Uzbekistan’s Ambassador to Kuwait, visited Damascus to hold talks with the leadership of the Syrian Federation of Chambers of Commerce.

According to the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Uzbekistan, the meetings were held with the Federation’s President, Alaa Omar al-Ali, and General Director Muhammad Amir al-Khamisi. The Syrian organization unites the trade and industrial chambers of the country’s regions, including Damascus, Aleppo, Homs, Hama, and Latakia, as well as thousands of private companies and entrepreneurs.

The parties discussed expanding business contacts and facilitating the entry of Uzbek companies into the Syrian market. According to the Syrian side, after years of instability, the country is returning to an open economic policy, focusing on industrial development and attracting investment. There is growing demand in Syria for products from Uzbekistan, including electrical equipment, construction materials, and food industry goods.

The context of increasing cooperation aligns with President Shavkat Mirziyoyev’s statement made on 25 November in Samarkand: starting next year, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry will send three trade advisers to Iraq and two to Syria.

During the meeting, the parties agreed to develop institutional ties between the trade and industrial chambers of the two countries and to invite Uzbek companies to participate in the Damascus International Fair–63, scheduled to take place in 2026.

A preliminary agreement was reached for a visit of a delegation of major Syrian entrepreneurs to Uzbekistan in the first quarter of 2026, which will include a business forum and B2B negotiations.