The President of Uzbekistan took part in the EAEU summit

On June 27, in Minsk, the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev took part in the regular meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council in the status of the head of the observer state at the EAEU, the press service of the head of our state reports.

The meeting, chaired by the President of the Republic of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko, was also attended by the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, the President of the Kyrgyz Republic Sadyr Japarov, the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin, the President of the Republic of Cuba Miguel Diaz-Canel in the status of an observer, the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran Masoud Pezeshkian (sent a video message), as well as the Chairman of the Board of the Eurasian Economic Commission Bakytzhan Sagintayev. The Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Sheikh Khalid Al-Nahyan, the First Deputy Prime Minister of Mongolia Nam-Osoryn Uchral and the CIS Secretary General Sergei Lebedev also took part in the meeting.

The agenda included issues of further expansion of multilateral trade and economic cooperation, support for industrial cooperation projects, and implementation of joint programs in priority areas of cooperation.

At the beginning of his speech, the President of Uzbekistan noted that further expansion and deepening of mutually beneficial cooperation with the EAEU countries is one of the priority areas of our country’s foreign economic policy.

Gratitude was expressed to the Organization’s member countries for the support and active participation of their delegations in the work of the International Industrial Exhibition “Innoprom. Central Asia” and the fourth Tashkent Investment Forum held in Uzbekistan since the beginning of this year.

It was especially emphasized that as a result of these events, important agreements were reached, new areas and promising cooperation projects were identified.

The head of our state informed the participants of the meeting about the development of multilateral cooperation between Uzbekistan and the Eurasian Economic Union. Thus, during the period of interaction in the status of an observer state, Uzbekistan’s foreign trade turnover with the Union countries increased by 80 percent and amounted to 18 billion dollars at the end of last year.

In March of this year, the fourth meeting of the joint Working Group was successfully held, following which measures were developed to gradually eliminate technical barriers, deepen industrial cooperation and stimulate business initiatives.

The implementation of a new three-year Plan has begun, covering about 40 specific events. Uzbekistan is also actively participating in important initiatives of the EAEU, including such projects and programs as the Eurasian Agroexpress, the development of e-commerce, the digitalization of cargo transportation and the climate agenda.

In addition, in April, the procedures for our country’s accession to the Agreement on the Establishment of the Eurasian Development Bank were completed. Together with the Bank, a promising portfolio of projects for the modernization of infrastructure in the field of metallurgy, textile, chemical and other strategic industries is being developed.

The head of our state outlined his vision of the key areas for the development of partnership with the EAEU.

The importance of creating favorable conditions for increasing mutual trade turnover was noted. It was emphasized that Uzbekistan fully complies with all agreements related to ensuring the operation of the free trade zone between our countries.

In this context, the need was noted for accelerating the expert development of a number of proposals from our country aimed at simplifying procedures and bringing together systems of technical regulation of trade operations.

Interest was also expressed in joining such trade support tools and mechanisms as the digital technical regulation system and the ecosystem of digital transport corridors of the EAEU, the Eurasian Reinsurance Company.

Taking into account the intensive development of modern information technologies and artificial intelligence, the prospects for multilateral cooperation in the field of digitalization were noted. In this context, it was proposed to adopt a separate program covering such areas as e-commerce, digital labeling of goods, the creation of new-generation logistics platforms, the introduction of artificial intelligence technologies in specific industries.

The possibility of Uzbekistan’s participation in a single integrated information system of checkpoints was also noted. This will speed up border crossings, ensure the effectiveness of monitoring and transparency of all procedures.

In order to stimulate the development of cooperation ties, a willingness was expressed to expand practical cooperation within the framework of the launched programs to support small and medium-sized businesses, including jointly with the EAEU Business Council.

Uzbekistan is interested in using the possibilities of the mechanism for financial support of industrial projects and the platform of the Eurasian Network of Industrial Cooperation and Technology Transfer.

In the area of ​​ensuring food security, the importance of developing measures aimed at expanding the

opportunities for cooperation between agricultural producers.

We are talking about the implementation of the initiative to adopt the Program of agricultural cooperation between Uzbekistan and the EAEU countries, which provides for the introduction of advanced technologies, simplification of the rules for the movement of agricultural goods, effective functioning and expansion of the “green” corridor.

In addition, active work is underway with partners in the EAEU to simplify procedures and increase the mobility of labor resources. In this regard, it was proposed to hold expert consultations on the issues of convergence of professional standards and qualification requirements in popular sectors of the labor market.

Readiness to join the integrated platform “Work without Borders” launched within the framework of the Organization was also expressed.

In conclusion, the head of our state emphasized that Uzbekistan’s participation in multilateral programs and projects of the EAEU will serve to strengthen the economic partnership and contribute to the sustainable development of our countries.