Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) - On 16 February, within the framework of the visit of the government delegation of the Republic of Uzbekistan to Hungary, Deputy Prime Minister - Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade of the Republic of Uzbekistan Sardor Umurzakov met with the President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI) of Hungary Laszlo Parrag, as well as the chairman and CEO of OTP Bank Group, Sandor Chanyi.

During the negotiations with Laszlo Parrag, priority areas of joint work were identified to create conditions for successful cooperation between entrepreneurs of the two countries in such promising areas as animal husbandry, agriculture, chemical, pharmaceutical and food industries. The parties identified a number of specific project proposals, which, according to the general assessment, have sufficient potential for further elaboration with private companies. An agreement was reached on joint work to attract potential partners from among Uzbek and Hungarian entrepreneurs and investors to cooperation.

The parties agreed on the relevance of implementing joint measures to increase the volume of trade by organizing mutual trade missions, exchanging lists of products in demand in the markets of the two countries and encouraging Uzbek and Hungarian entrepreneurs to actively participate in industry exhibitions and fairs held in Uzbekistan and Hungary. An agreement was reached on organizing a visit of a delegation of Hungarian business circles to Uzbekistan to hold an Uzbek-Hungarian business forum and a detailed discussion of promising investment projects.

During the meeting with Sh. Chanyi, issues of the current state and prospects for the development of Uzbek-Hungarian cooperation in the banking and financial sector were discussed.

The Hungarian side noted positive trends in the development of the financial market of Uzbekistan and the additional opportunities opening up in this regard to attract foreign investors. The Uzbek side provided information on the large-scale reforms carried out in the banking sector, the measures being taken to liberalize the foreign exchange market, privatize Uzbek commercial banks with a state share, as well as expand access to banking services.

In this context, special attention was paid to the prospects for the entry of "OTP Bank Group" into the banking services market of Uzbekistan through the privatization of one of the Uzbek commercial banks, as well as issues of bilateral interaction in this direction.

Following the meeting, the parties outlined further practical steps to implement this initiative.