Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- A meeting was held at the Uzcharmsanoat Association with a delegation from Kazakhstan headed by Minister of Industry and Infrastructure Development Marat Karabaev. The purpose of the visit is to expand cooperation in existing areas and develop new joint projects in the leather and footwear industry.

In particular, the parties discussed the possibility of establishing cooperative ties between the enterprises of the two countries to increase their export potential. Also, the focus was on the implementation of new joint projects in small industrial zones of Uzbekistan and industrial zones of Kazakhstan. The projects will be aimed primarily at establishing a complete chain of production and production of finished products with high added value. For these purposes, the Kazakh side is ready to allocate credit funds in the national currency tenge for 7 years at 3% per annum with a grace period for the construction and launch of new joint ventures.

The parties also discussed the possibility of increasing the supply of shoes from Uzbekistan to Kazakhstan. Last year alone, shoes worth US$28 million were delivered from our country to the neighboring one. This is about 7.8 million pairs. The parties plan to increase these figures further.

Multifaceted cooperation with the Republic of Kazakhstan will include the establishment of deep processing of raw materials and the production of finished products with high added value. The Minister of Industry and Infrastructure Development of the Republic of Kazakhstan noted that with a sufficiently large raw material base, today the country does not have the necessary facilities for deep processing of cattle and small cattle skins, as well as wool.

Thus, it is proposed at the enterprises of Uzbekistan to process raw materials received from Kazakhstan with the release of products with high added value from it. In this regard, our country has accumulated solid experience. Only leather processing plants operate about 60.

More than 2 billion square meters dm of skins are produced annually in our country. Wool is processed more than 500 thousand tons per year. There is a possibility of increasing these figures, including at the expense of raw materials from Kazakhstan. Joint projects will also include the organization of new production facilities, and the resulting products will be exported to the CIS countries and Europe through joint efforts.