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05 December 2023

Uzbekistan is expanding trade and economic cooperation with the countries of the Middle East and South Asia

The Minister of Investment, Industry and Trade of the Republic of Uzbekistan Laziz Kudratov took part in the 39th meeting of the Standing Committee on Economic and Trade Cooperation (COMCEC) of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) held in Istanbul (Turkey), the PR center of the MIIT reports. The event was dedicated to discussing efforts to strengthen partnerships between OIC member countries in areas such as trade, finance, transport, communications, agriculture, tourism, poverty reduction and digital transformation.

On the sidelines of the meeting, Laziz Kudratov held bilateral meetings with the heads of relevant ministries of a number of OIC member countries.

In particular, the progress in the implementation of the protocol of the trilateral meeting “Uzbekistan – Afghanistan – Pakistan”, the “Road Map” for cooperation in the trade and industrial, financial, banking, transport and logistics and agricultural spheres was discussed with the Minister of Commerce of Pakistan Gohar Ejaz.

The conclusion of the Preferential Trade Agreement in 2022 made it possible to increase the Uzbek-Pakistani trade turnover by 40%, in connection with which the parties agreed to jointly explore the possibilities of developing a Free Trade Agreement.

At a meeting with Turkish Trade Minister Omer Bolat, in the context of taking measures to expand trade volume, which reached $2.6 billion in October this year, the parties supported proposals to develop mutual recognition of certificates of conformity and create a list of products to reduce customs duties.

An agreement was reached with the UAE Minister of Economy Abdullah Al-Mari to accelerate the preparation of a joint “Road Map” covering areas such as logistics infrastructure, banking and insurance, stock market development, mining and processing of minerals, cooperation in the field of artificial intelligence, programming and creation of data processing centers. It was noted that over the past 5 years in Uzbekistan, the number of enterprises with the participation of UAE capital has increased 2.5 times to 240 units.

In 2022, trade turnover with the UAE exceeded $500 million. In this context, it was proposed to intensify the holding of joint events – meetings of the IGC and business forums with the participation of representatives of the business circles of the two countries.

Transport and logistics cooperation also took a key place on the agenda of negotiations with foreign colleagues. All parties noted the importance of diversifying transport corridors, increasing cargo transportation volumes, simplifying transit processes and developing transport infrastructure.

As a result of the meetings, mutual commitment was confirmed to further deepen the multifaceted partnership with the adoption of specific measures of practical interaction and systematic monitoring of the implementation of existing agreements.