The presidents of Uzbekistan and Turkey held a meeting with the heads of leading companies of the two countries

On June 6, the first meeting of the Uzbek-Turkish Business Council was held in Ankara, chaired by the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev and the President of the Republic of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the press service of the head of our state reports.

From the Uzbek side, the council included ‘‘Global Textile’’, ‘‘ProCab’’, ‘‘Agromir Group’’, ‘‘ERIELL Group’’, ‘‘Akfa Holding’’, ‘‘Murad Buildings’’, ‘‘SAG’’, ‘‘BMB Holding’’, ‘‘Uzbekistan Hydrogen’’.

The Turkish side was represented by holding companies such as ‘‘Çalık’’, ‘‘Cengiz’’, ‘‘Acibadem’’, ‘‘Eczacıbaşı’’, ‘‘Anadolu Group’’, ‘‘Aksa Energy’’, ‘‘Zorlu’’, ‘‘Kalyon’’, ‘‘Onur’’ Group and others.

This is the first time that dialogue with entrepreneurs has taken place in this format. The Presidents of Uzbekistan and Turkey emphasized that the creation of the Uzbek-Turkish Business Council symbolizes the achievement of a new level in the development of bilateral relations.

The need for regular meetings of the Council was pointed out to promptly resolve all emerging issues and promote priority areas for further investment, trade and economic cooperation.

The head of Uzbekistan noted with satisfaction the progressive dynamics of the bilateral trade, economic and investment partnership. Thus, over the past five years, the number of enterprises with Turkish capital has tripled and reached 2 thousand, and the volume of investments has doubled.

Following the results of the joint business forum and business events held the day before, a solid package of bilateral documents was signed in the field of agriculture, construction, energy, healthcare, geology, electrical engineering, production of building materials, jewelry, textile and leather industries.

The President cited a number of examples of successful activities of the Turkish companies ‘‘Cengiz Energy’’, ‘‘Aksa Energy’’, ‘‘Çalık Holding’’, ‘‘Eczacıbaşı’’ and ‘‘Anadolu’’ in the energy, construction, mining and food industries.

The leader of our state outlined a number of promising areas of partnership, primarily the expansion of investment cooperation and industrial cooperation.

An agreement was reached on the creation of an Uzbek-Turkish industrial cluster, which will become an industrial zone in Uzbekistan and the locomotive of practical interaction between the two countries.

The President of Uzbekistan paid special attention to the development of public-private partnership mechanisms, on the principles of which it is planned to implement joint projects worth more than $3 billion.

Cooperation in the mining industry is identified as another priority. Practical work on the study and extraction of mineral resources has already begun with large Turkish mining and geological companies.

In turn, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan noted that Turkey strives to further strengthen mutually beneficial relations with Uzbekistan in all areas.

He emphasized the great potential for increasing direct cooperation between business circles. The Turkish leader called on the Council participants for a constructive dialogue in order to strengthen trade, economic and investment ties.

During the exchange of views, representatives of the Turkish business community highly appreciated the opportunities created by the irreversible reforms being carried out in Uzbekistan, which create a solid basis for the implementation of long-term plans of Turkish business in our country.

At the meeting, specific proposals were made by the heads of leading companies in Uzbekistan and Turkey, aimed at further deepening cooperation in priority areas.

The heads of state sincerely thanked business representatives for their willingness to work together and instructed responsible leaders to provide comprehensive support to entrepreneurs.