BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 23. Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan discussed in detail the progress of the implementation of current joint projects and agreements, as well as the possibilities of expanding bilateral trade, economics, transport, logistics, and interregional cooperation, Trend reports.
During the meeting between Minister of Investment, Industry, and Trade of Uzbekistan Laziz Kudratov and Minister of Trade and Integration of Kazakhstan Arman Shakkaliyev on September 22, both sides noted the positive dynamics of the growth of trade turnover between the two countries.
In particular, the ministers stressed additional opportunities to increase mutual trade turnover to $10 billion in the coming years due to mutual supplies of food, textiles, automobiles, electrical equipment, ferrous metals, oil, and gas products. A joint foreign trade company created in the spring of 2023, having already exported products totaling $1.3 million during its operation, is designed to contribute to this.
As a result of the meeting, the parties agreed on the format of further cooperation on the implementation of the agreements reached and the defined new areas of mutually beneficial cooperation.
Meanwhile, 7 trade contracts and 24 joint investment agreements signed during the visit of the President of Kazakhstan, Kassym Jomart Tokaev, to Uzbekistan in December 2022 are currently being implemented.
Over the past 6 years, the volume of trade turnover between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan has grown by almost 2.5 times and amounted to $4.6 billion in 2022, which is an increase of 17.8 percent compared to the figure for 2021 ($3.9 billion). In this context, the parties set out the tasks of further increasing the volume and expanding mutual trade.