Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) – During a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the "Kazakhstan-Uzbekistan" business forum, the Deputy Prime Ministers of the two countries, Serik Zhumangarin and Jamshid Khodjaev, reached an agreement to jointly implement 34 investment projects worth US$4.4 billion and 7 trade contracts totaling US$2.6 billion.

These agreements are formalized in a list of corresponding documents, as reported by the Official Information Resource of the Prime Minister of Kazakhstan.

"Uzbekistan is one of Kazakhstan’s largest trading partners, ranking 7th as of 2023. Trade with Uzbekistan accounts for over 57% of our country’s total trade turnover with Central Asian countries. Over the past five years, bilateral trade has increased by 29%, reaching US$5 billion in 2022. We need systematic solutions to trade issues and the search for new growth points in trade turnover to achieve the goal set by our heads of state — to reach US$10 billion in the medium term," stated Kazakhstan’s Deputy Prime Minister Serik Zhumangarin.

The planned investment projects span various sectors, including energy, mining and geology, transportation, chemical industry, construction, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, pharmaceuticals, and more. The majority of projects are concentrated in agriculture.

The two sides agreed on joint agricultural production and deep processing of grain and rice in Kazakhstan, the production of silk products in the Turkestan region, the creation of a packaging materials manufacturing plant, and other initiatives. A decision was also made to establish a joint venture for the reception and processing of cattle hides in the Mangystau region.

The implementation of these projects will effectively utilize the investment and trade potential of both countries, contributing to the goal set by the leaders of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan — increasing mutual trade turnover to US$10 billion.