Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) — Minister of investments, industry, and trade of Uzbekistan Laziz Kudratov and the Minister of Finance of Egypt Ahmed Kouchouk discussed the development of trade-economic and investment cooperation between the two countries.

The meeting took place ahead of the Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank in Samarkand.

Trade turnover between Uzbekistan and Egypt increased by 20% from January to August 2024 compared to the previous year. Within the framework of a joint investment portfolio, 18 projects are being implemented with a total value of over US$1.5 billion, involving companies such as Elsewedy Electric and Orascom Construction.

The ministers emphasized the need to utilize all available resources to increase mutual trade volumes and agreed to establish a working group to analyze and develop specific proposals in this direction.

Priority tasks were also identified, including cooperation between financial institutions and active involvement of Egyptian companies in privatization programs and public-private partnerships in sectors such as infrastructure, education, and healthcare.

Following the negotiations, the parties confirmed their readiness to develop cooperation and agreed to hold the next meeting of the Intergovernmental Commission on trade-economic and scientific-technical cooperation by the end of the year in Samarkand.