TASHKENT, Uzbekistan, January 8. Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan have agreed to create a joint working group to remove barriers to bilateral trade, Trend reports.
Minister of Investment, Industry and Trade of Uzbekistan Laziz Kudratov discussed with Minister of Trade and Integration of Kazakhstan Arman Shakkaliev on January 5 the implementation of projects within the framework of the roadmap signed a year ago by the presidents of both countries.
On the basis of a joint foreign trade company, UzKazTrade will create an online trading platform to sell a wide range of goods in the markets of both countries.
In addition, the parties agreed to accelerate the establishment of the “Central Asia” International Center for Industrial Cooperation. It will produce import-substituting products using the manufacturing bases of both countries' border areas.
The volume of bilateral trade has grown almost 2.5 times over the past seven years, from $1.9 billion in 2016 to $4.6 billion in 2023. The sides also noted the possibility of increasing trade turnover to $10 billion in the coming years.
A joint company, UzKazTrade, was established last March to supply fruits and vegetables from Uzbekistan and flour from Kazakhstan. It was announced that UzKazTrade plans to import fruits and vegetables from Uzbekistan to Kazakhstan in bulk without a commercial markup.