BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 2. Uzbekistan is identified as a priority Central Asian country in the Lithuanian development policy strategy, the source at the Communication and Cultural Diplomacy Department of Lithuania’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs told Trend.
The source says that the countries are actively developing cooperation in the fields such as transport and logistics.
“We share good and friendly political and economic relations with Uzbekistan. Our bilateral cooperation priority areas are transport and logistics. We see a lot of potential in mutual cooperation between business communities,” the source notes.
The source at Lithuanian MFA emphasizes that besides the abovementioned areas, the countries are in the process of establishing cooperation in the following sectors: education, energy, and environmental protection.
“Recently, we have seen positive signs in our development activities related to Uzbekistan – current and future projects include the digitalization of education, renewable energy, and environmental protection sectors,” the source adds.
According to the source, the level of mutual trade between Uzbekistan and Lithuania has been showing positive dynamics over the past few years.
“In 2022, bilateral trade of Lithuania and Uzbekistan reached 427 million euros. Export from Lithuania to Uzbekistan amounted to 316 million euros while import from Uzbekistan to Lithuania amounted to 111 million euros,” the source says.
Among the goods exported from Lithuania to Uzbekistan, the source names the following ones: vehicles and their parts, machinery, mechanical appliances, pharmaceuticals; electrical machinery, and equipment.
Meanwhile, Uzbekistan’s State Statistical Committee also records a positive tendency in trade turnover between the countries. The latest statistics data notes that trade turnover between Uzbekistan and Lithuania totaled $205.2 million from January through March 2023. This figure has increased by 2.2 times, compared to the same period in 2022 – $91.7 million.