Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) —  Türkiye-Uzbekistan cooperation within the Turkic Council is a model of successful economic integration for the region. This opinion was expressed by Alisher Kadirov, head of the Department of Strategic and Interregional Studies at the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan (ISMI), during an Uzbek-Turkish roundtable discussion on the topic: "The Turkic Council and the Prospects for Uzbek-Turkish Strategic Relations."

As noted by the ISMI expert, in the era of global geopolitical shifts, the Turkic Council is becoming a key player on the Eurasian stage, uniting Turkic countries into a powerful economic and political alliance. “Against this backdrop, the rapidly developing ties between Türkiye and Uzbekistan stand out prominently,” he stated.

It was emphasized that in recent years, Uzbek-Turkish relations have undergone a qualitative leap, reaching the level of comprehensive strategic partnership. According to the expert, this implies not only the expansion of economic ties but also the deepening of political dialogue, cultural exchanges, and cooperation in the field of security.

In this context, he highlighted the dynamic development of bilateral trade, economic, and investment interactions, specifying that over the past five years, the volume of mutual trade between the two countries has increased by 1.3 times. The number of enterprises with Turkish capital in Uzbekistan has tripled to 1,898, while Turkish FDI has increased tenfold. In the past year, 260 new Uzbek-Turkish joint ventures were established, making Türkiye the third-largest partner in terms of joint ventures in Uzbekistan.

"To be specific, the trade turnover between Uzbekistan and Türkiye reached US$3.1 billion in 2023. This was made possible by the active participation of both countries in the Turkic Council, which provides a unique platform for implementing joint projects and initiatives," Kadirov clarified.

Thus, the ISMI representative concluded that Uzbekistan and Türkiye demonstrate a strong commitment to strengthening trade ties. Despite the successes already achieved, both countries have even more ambitious goals ahead.

Plans are underway to reduce customs tariffs under a preferential trade agreement to increase trade turnover to US$5 billion.

"In the long term, we aim for an even more impressive result — to raise the volume of bilateral trade to US$10 billion. Such a level of trade turnover has the potential to elevate the partnership between the countries to a qualitatively new level, making it one of the key factors for the economic development of the region," the expert concluded.

It is worth noting that the event, organized by the Development Strategy Center in collaboration with the Turkish Marmara Group Foundation in Tashkent on 29 November, also included representatives from the University of World Economy and Diplomacy and the Tashkent State Institute of Oriental Studies. The Turkish side was represented by the Ambassador of Türkiye to Uzbekistan and Turkish parliamentarians.