Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- Under the chairmanship of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev and the President of the Republic of Türkiye Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the third meeting of the Uzbek-Turkish High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council was held.

The head of Uzbekistan, expressing gratitude to the leader and people of Türkiye for their hospitality and warm welcome, emphasized that today’s meeting is being held on the eve of the holy holiday of Kurban Hayit and in the year of the 32nd anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

“The establishment of the Strategic Cooperation Council opened a new page in the history of Uzbek-Turkish relations and gave a powerful impetus to the further development of partnership in all areas,” President Mirziyoyev noted.

Political dialogue, inter-parliamentary relations and cultural and humanitarian exchanges, as well as trade, economic and investment interaction are developing.

In recent years, trade turnover has increased by 1.5 times, the number of joint ventures has increased by 2 times, and the volume of Turkish investments in the Uzbek economy has increased by 2.5 times. There are 90 flights a week between major cities of the two countries; the flow of tourists from Türkiye has increased 3 times.

The goal is to increase the volume of bilateral trade turnover to five billion dollars in the shortest possible time.

Today in Uzbekistan, leading Turkish companies such as Cengiz Holding, Aksa Energy, Çalık Holding, Akay Inşaat, Anadolu Group, Özgüven, Eczacıbaşı Holding are successfully implementing more than 100 projects. During the visit, a portfolio of new investment projects worth US$10 billion was formed.

To further build up bilateral trade and economic cooperation, it is important to strengthen industrial cooperation, deepen the localization of production of goods with high added value, and jointly enter the markets of third countries.

The need to reduce customs tariffs within the framework of the Preferential Trade Agreement and open a trade mission of Uzbekistan in Istanbul was emphasized.

Attention was paid to the introduction of advanced Turkish experience and public-private partnership mechanisms, expanding interaction in agriculture and water management, digitalization of healthcare and the creation of medical clusters.

Another important area of cooperation is increasing the transport and logistics potential of the two countries, including through the effective use of the opportunities of the Middle Corridor.

Particular attention was paid to the development of partnerships in the field of higher, vocational and technical education, holding theater festivals, cultural weeks, joint filming of historical films and restoration of cultural heritage sites.

The parties welcomed the adoption of the Declaration on Deepening the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and the creation of the Uzbek-Turkish Business Council under the leadership of the leaders of the two countries.

Following the meeting, the governments were instructed to approve a joint “road map” for the implementation of the decisions taken.

At the end of the negotiations, Shavkat Mirziyoyev invited Recep Tayyip Erdogan to visit Uzbekistan to hold the next meeting of the Council.