Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- On 10 November, on the eve of the First Summit of the Organization of Turkic States, an Uzbek-Hungarian business forum was held in Samarkand.

It was attended by heads of key ministries and departments, industry associations, commercial banks of Uzbekistan, as well as representatives of about 200 large Hungarian and Uzbek companies engaged in the fields of ICT, construction, engineering, agriculture, food and light industry, medical and pharmaceutical industries , transport, logistics and other areas.

The opening ceremony of the forum was attended by the Deputy Prime Minister - Minister of Investments and Foreign Trade of the Republic of Uzbekistan Jamshid Khodjaev and the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Economic Relations of Hungary Peter Szijjarto.

Emphasizing the high level of trusting relations between the leaders of the two countries as one of the determining factors for the positive dynamics of the development of relations between the two countries, Jamshid Khodjaev outlined the key achievements of Uzbekistan in developing the economy, trade, industry and improving the investment climate. In particular, the improvement of legislation on investor protection, infrastructural development, availability of energy resources, reduced participation of the state in the economy and the launch of privatization processes, the creation of benefits and preferences for both domestic business and foreign investors, free access to the EU markets under the GSP + and markets of the CIS countries, diversification of interregional transport corridors.

“Thanks to friendly relations between Uzbekistan and Hungary, bilateral cooperation reaches unprecedented heights. The volume of mutual trade is growing rapidly (it has tripled in 5 years). The number of joint ventures has reached 15, and the volume of investments in 2022 is more than US$30 million. Following the official visit of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev to Hungary in October 2022, a Roadmap was adopted for the implementation of new projects worth more than US$1 billion. - said in his speech at the opening of the business forum, Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Uzbekistan - Minister of Investments and Foreign Trade Jamshid Khodjaev.

The most promising areas for the implementation of joint investment projects were identified, such as the development of alternative energy, mining and deep processing of minerals, agriculture, automotive industry, pharmaceutical production and tourism.

The importance of intensifying business contacts between the two countries was also noted, while readiness to provide comprehensive state support in the implementation of all joint projects and initiatives was voiced. Representatives of the Hungarian investment and trade circles were assured of the commitment of the government of Uzbekistan to the accelerated development of Uzbek-Hungarian business cooperation.

During the business forum, "G2B" and "B2B" meetings were also organized between the heads of ministries, departments, industry associations and leading companies of Uzbekistan and Hungary, where participants were able to substantively discuss the creation of joint ventures and the conclusion of mutually beneficial trade agreements.

As a result of the event, 8 documents were signed, including a number of Agreements and agreements on cooperation in the automotive industry, the provision of transport and logistics services, light industry, poultry farming, as well as Memorandums of Understanding in the field of medical and pharmaceutical products, scientific and technical fields and fish farming.