Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- On the sidelines of the Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors of the Islamic Development Bank, Deputy Prime Minister - Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade of the Republic of Uzbekistan Sardor Umurzakov met with Minister of Planning and Economic Development of the Arab Republic of Egypt Hala Helmi Elsaid.

During the dialogue, the parties discussed the current agenda of Uzbek-Egyptian cooperation in trade, economic, investment, cultural and humanitarian spheres, as well as measures to further intensify bilateral interaction.

In particular, the possibilities for creating joint ventures in the fields of agriculture, pharmaceutical, electrical, leather and footwear and textile industries were considered.

There were noted ample opportunities for increasing the volume of mutual trade. According to the results of the first half of the year, the volume of trade between the two countries more than doubled, in connection with which the parties expressed their readiness to develop concrete practical measures to increase the supply of Uzbek and Egyptian products to the markets of the two countries.

The parties agreed to create a joint group in order to timely implement the agreements reached and work out new areas of bilateral trade and economic cooperation. On a bilateral basis, work will be carried out to develop proposals for eliminating existing barriers in bilateral trade and identifying the most promising projects for subsequent implementation.

Following the meeting, an agreement was reached on the establishment of the Uzbek-Egyptian Business Council, whose task will be to bring the business communities of the two countries closer together in order to enhance bilateral trade, economic and investment cooperation, as well as establish industrial cooperation between manufacturers of both states.

They also discussed the issues of holding in the near future the next meeting of the Uzbek-Egyptian Intergovernmental Commission on Trade, Economic and Scientific and Technical Cooperation and a business forum with the participation of representatives of large companies of the two countries.