Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- On 6 July, in Seoul, a meeting was held between the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade of the Republic of Uzbekistan Sardor Umurzakov and the Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy of the Republic of Korea Song Yoon Mo.

They discussed current trends in the development of investment and trade and economic cooperation, as well as mechanisms for its further expansion.

Positive dynamics in the development of mutual trade was noted - at the end of 2019, trade between Uzbekistan and Korea grew by 27 percent and reached US$2.7 billion, which is the highest figure in the last 5 years. According to the general opinion of the meeting participants, at the moment there are all the prerequisites for bringing the volume of mutual trade to US$5 billion by 2023.

In this context, an agreement was reached on an accelerated transition to the stage of interagency coordination of the draft Free Trade Agreement, preliminary studies on which were completed at the end of June this year.

The format of cooperation was also agreed upon within the framework of the further implementation of the project to create the National Online Platform for Electronic Commerce of Uzbekistan, which is carried out at the expense of attracted grant funds from Korea.

The issues of facilitating access to the Korean market of fresh and processed fruit and vegetable products of Uzbekistan were discussed, for which it is planned to intensify the interaction of quarantine services of the two countries, the purpose of which will be to increase the quality and competitiveness of products exported by Uzbekistan and gain access to the markets of other countries with a high level of domestic market protection. In this direction, the Korean side will assist in the creation of modern laboratories in the field of plant quarantine in Uzbekistan, as well as in training personnel.

Special attention was paid to the current state and prospects for the development of investment cooperation, including the implementation of the agreements reached during the high-level visits. According to reports, the total cost of a package of 79 priority investment projects for the current day is US$17.3 billion, which is why the importance of close bilateral cooperation was noted in order to minimize the risk of delays in project implementation and ensure targeted assistance to the initiators of these projects from the two governments countries.

At the same time, great opportunities for enhancing investment cooperation were emphasized through the joint development of additional projects in the fields of engineering, electrical, mining, petrochemical, chemical, food and pharmaceutical industries, the production of building materials and other areas where the Korean business rightfully occupies a leading position in the world.

Separately, the prospects of introducing Korean experience in the production of electric vehicles, the implementation of IT start-ups, the formation of special and venture funds, the management of technology parks and innovation centers were touched upon. So, in particular, the possibilities of establishing the production of innovative protective medical suits and masks at the industrial base of textile technology parks in Uzbekistan will be studied.

During the meeting, the Korean side expressed its readiness to systematically develop cooperation with Uzbekistan in order to facilitate its industrial development by attracting leading Korean companies for joint development and implementation of promising projects.

It was also agreed to hold the 10th meeting of the Uzbek-Korean Intergovernmental Committee on Trade and Economic Cooperation, as well as organize a business forum with the involvement of business circles of the two countries in October this year in Seoul.

As a result of the meeting, the parties determined further actions for joint elaboration of the discussed areas of cooperation due to the systematic joint work of the relevant ministries of the two countries.