The leaders of Uzbekistan and Turkey spoke in favor of further deepening the comprehensive strategic partnership

Under the chairmanship of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev and the President of the Republic of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the third meeting of the Uzbek-Turkish High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council was held, the press service of the head of our state reports.

The head of our state, expressing gratitude to the leader and people of Turkey for the hospitality and warm welcome, emphasized that today’s meeting is being held on the eve of the holy holiday of Kurban Hayit and in the year of celebrating the 32nd anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

– The establishment of the Strategic Cooperation Council opened a new page in the history of Uzbek-Turkish relations and gave a powerful impetus to the further development of partnership in all areas, – noted the head of our state.

Political dialogue, interparliamentary relations and cultural and humanitarian exchanges, trade, economic and investment interaction are developing dynamically.

In recent years, trade turnover has increased by 1.5 times, the number of joint ventures has increased by 2 times, and the volume of Turkish investments in the Uzbek economy has increased by 2.5 times. There are 90 flights a week between major cities of the two countries; the flow of tourists from Turkey has increased 3 times.

The goal is to increase the volume of bilateral trade turnover to five billion dollars in the shortest possible time.

Today in Uzbekistan, such leading Turkish companies as Cengiz Holding, Aksa Energy, Çalık Holding, Akay Inşaat, Anadolu Group, Özgüven, Eczacıbaşı Holding are successfully implementing more than 100 projects. As part of this visit, a portfolio of new investment projects worth $10 billion was formed.

In order to further build up bilateral trade and economic cooperation, the importance of strengthening industrial cooperation, deepening the localization of production of goods with high added value and joint entry into the markets of third countries was noted.

The need to reduce customs tariffs within the framework of the Agreement on Preferential Trade and to open a trade mission of Uzbekistan in the city of Istanbul was also emphasized.

Attention was drawn to the demand for introducing advanced Turkish experience and public-private partnership mechanisms, expanding interaction in the field of agriculture and water management, digitalization of healthcare and the creation of medical clusters.

Another important area of ​​cooperation is increasing the transport and logistics potential of the two countries, including through the effective use of the opportunities of the Middle Corridor.

Particular attention is paid to the development of partnerships in the field of higher, vocational and technical education, holding theater festivals, cultural weeks, joint filming of historical films and restoration of cultural heritage sites.

The parties welcomed the adoption of the Declaration on Deepening the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and the creation of the Uzbek-Turkish Business Council under the leadership of the leaders of the two countries.

Following the meeting, the governments were instructed to approve a joint “road map” for the implementation of the decisions taken.

At the end of the negotiations, Shavkat Mirziyoyev invited Recep Tayyip Erdogan to visit Uzbekistan to hold the next meeting of the Council.