A scheduled session of the Uzbekistan-Turkey intergovernmental commission for trade-economic cooperation has taken place at Uzexpocentre on 25 May. 

The session was attended by the heads of ministries and departments and companies of the two countries responsible for such spheres as economics, banking, finance, trade, investment, energy, agriculture, textile, food production, health care, pharmaceuticals, tourism, culture, information technology, transport and supply lines, logistics, building materials production and electrical engineering. 

Rustam Azimov, deputy prime minister of Uzbekistan and co-chairman of the commission, and others said that cooperation between Uzbekistan and Turkey was developing in all these areas. Agreements reached during top-level meetings serve as an important law-based foundation for this. 

The 14 May 2017 meeting between President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev and President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Beijing within the One Belt, One Road forum, and President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s visit to Uzbekistan on 17-18 November 2016 gave a new impetus to the bilateral cooperation. 

The law-based foundation for the two countries’ cooperation is increasingly strengthening. These countries have great potential for developing trade and economic relations. Today there are 441 Turkish firms and companies working in Uzbekistan. In the year 2016, the two countries’ bilateral trade amounted to 1.2 billion dollars. 

It was noted at the session of the intergovernmental commission that Uzbekistan and Turkey were interested in further increasing the bilateral trade and expanding the scale of trade-economic and investment cooperation. It was emphasized that the two countries had big potential for the development of cooperation in such spheres as economic partnership, finance, tourism, transport and supply lines. 

At the session, special attention was given to the issues of increasing the volume and expanding the assortment of goods of the bilateral trade, the development of investment and financial-technical cooperation, tourism infrastructure modernization, the extensive processing of agricultural produce and the implementation of projects within the “Urgut” free economic zone to create hi-tech modern industrial facilities. 

The visitors highly evaluated the results of Uzbekistan’s trade-economic and investment policy, conditions created in this country for the attraction of foreign investments and opportunities in free economic zones.

Yildirim Tugrul Turkes, deputy prime minster of Turkey and co-chairman of the commission for trade-economic cooperation, said specifically that the Uzbek and Turkish peoples had centuries-long history, common values and similar customs and traditions. 

“We are glad about the dynamic development of economic cooperation and trade and cooperation in such spheres as investment attraction, tourism and transport,” said Yildirim Tugrul Turkes. 

At the event, special attention was paid to issues of working out and implementing joint economic projects and increasing the volumes of trade. Turkish businessmen participated in discussion about the implementation of joint projects in such spheres as food, textile and leather production, electrical engineering and the production of pharmaceuticals, building materials and consumer goods. 

An agreement was reached on further developing the tourism infrastructure of Uzbekistan with the attraction of Turkish companies, on building modern tourism complexes conforming to international standards in Uzbekistan’s historical cities. 

As a result of the session of the intergovernmental commission, a joint protocol and other documents were signed. 

On the same day, an investment forum and a cooperative exchange took place between business circles of Uzbekistan and Turkey. In the course of these, there was discussion of issues of more broadly using the economic and investment potential and existing possibilities of the two countries.