BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 11
By Tamilla Mammadova – Trend:
Georgia and Uzbekistan are stable trading partners, said Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development Natia Turnava, Trend reports via Georgian media.
Turnava met with the Deputy Minister of Investments and Foreign Trade of Uzbekistan Bakhtiyor Rakhimov, who is in the framework of the working visit of the Uzbek delegation to Georgia.
During the meeting, the parties discussed bilateral economic relations and priority areas for future cooperation.
According to Turnava, the decline in trade as a result of last year's coronavirus pandemic in 2021 is characterized by increasing dynamics.
In particular, from January through April 2021, trade between the two countries increased by 10 percent to $31.5 million. There was also an increasing dynamics in exports - during the reporting period, exports increased by 13 percent.
It was noted that the increase in exports had a positive impact on the decision of the government of Uzbekistan to abolish the excise tax on agricultural products, which affected 73 goods exported from Georgia, including mineral waters, fruit juices, soft drinks.
Particular attention was paid to the creation of a working group on trade and economic cooperation and the possibility of joint investments in transport and logistics infrastructure, as well as the launch of new transport routes between Europe and Asia through Georgia and Uzbekistan.
The parties also stressed the importance of deepening cooperation in the field of tourism and civil aviation.
The meeting was also attended by Deputy Ministers of Economy and Sustainable Development Gennadi Arveladze and Guram Guramishvili, as well as Georgian Ambassador to Uzbekistan Zurab Abdushelishvili.
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