TASHKENT, Uzbekistan, September 11. Two Chinese companies will start extracting coal in Kyrgyzstan for subsequent export to Uzbekistan, Trend reports.
"It is planned to produce 1,800 tons of coal per year. Starting next year, we plan to start exporting coal to neighboring Uzbekistan", Minister of Energy of Kyrgyzstan Taalaibek Ibraev said.
In January 2023, the Ministries of Energy of Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan signed an agreement on the development of cooperation in the coal industry within the framework of the state visit of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev to Bishkek. The document provides for the implementation of joint projects for the development of coal mines in Kyrgyzstan as well as the organization of coal exports to Uzbekistan.
Meanwhile, trade turnover between the two countries amounted to $277.444 million from January through June 2023, an increase of 10.6 percent compared to the same period in 2022 ($250.802 million).
Imports from Uzbekistan reached $113.914 million in the first half of 2023, an increase of 14.7 percent compared to the same period in 2022, while the volume of Uzbek exports amounted to $163.526 million, which is an increase of 8 percent year-on-year.