BAKU, Azerbaijan, Nov. 19
By Fakhri Vakilov-Trend:
A joint Russia-UNDP Trust Fund for Development has presented a new project entitled “Promoting Trade Development in Uzbekistan,” Trend reports citing Uzbek media.
Its implementation is scheduled to begin on January 1, 2020.
The project will contribute to inclusive and sustainable economic growth in Uzbekistan, promoting trade and increasing the country's competitiveness. The main executive body of the project in Uzbekistan is the Ministry of Investment and Foreign Trade.
Speaking at the presentation, UNDP Resident Representative in Uzbekistan Matilda Dimovska emphasized that the project would not only support Uzbekistan’s intention to join the WTO and improve the country's foreign trade policy as a whole, but would also increase the production and export potential of the agricultural sector.
According to Deputy Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade Furkat Rakhimov, the project will serve to develop and diversify the structure of Uzbek exports, strengthen their competitiveness, create jobs and facilitate the country's accession to the WTO.
As Ambassador of Russia in Uzbekistan Vladimir Tyurdenev recalled, this is not the first project of the Trust Fund in Uzbekistan. In 2019, the country implemented the fund's projects "Improving adaptation and increasing the sustainability of agriculture in Uzbekistan’s Ferghana Valley to the risks caused by climate change" and "Promoting youth employment in Uzbekistan."
The Ambassador added that thanks to the involvement of professional expertise, the project will open up the possibility of Uzbekistan’s maximum integration into the world economy.
The European Union has allocated grant to finance the entry of Uzbekistan into the World Trade Organization. The amount of grant funds allocated within the framework of the project on Uzbekistan’s accession to the WTO is 5 million euros.
Uzbekistan’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdulaziz Kamilov and Director-General of the European Commission’s Directorate-General for International Cooperation and Development (DG DEVCO) Koen Doens signed agreements on financing technical assistance project "Uzbekistan's accession to the World Trade Organization" in November 2019.
The project provides assistance to Uzbekistan in the process of joining this organization as a whole, including the preparation of the necessary documents, increasing the knowledge of Uzbek specialists of the WTO agreements and the international trading system.
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