Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- On 19 December this year, under the chairmanship of the Deputy Prime Minister - Minister of Investments and Foreign Trade of the Republic of Uzbekistan Jamshid Khodjaev, a videoconference was held to discuss trade and economic cooperation with China, organizational and substantive aspects of the upcoming visits of the Working Group to Pakistan and Singapore, as well as the state visit of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to the Republic of Uzbekistan on 21-22 December.

The meeting was attended by heads of ministries, departments, industry associations, diplomatic missions of Uzbekistan in these countries.

The progress of the implementation of the Roadmap approved following the visit of the Deputy Prime Minister of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China Hu Chunhua in December of this year was discussed. 

The document includes measures to develop trade and economic cooperation between Uzbekistan and China, in particular, increase the volume of mutual trade up to US$10 billion, attract grant funding in the amount of US$500 million and foreign direct investment, develop transport and logistics connectivity and interregional cooperation. 

The Roadmap also implies the joint implementation of projects in the development of alternative energy, mining, the creation of an Uzbek-Chinese agro-innovation park and the implementation of joint projects in the field of agriculture, the adoption of measures to reduce poverty based on Chinese experience and other tasks. Responsible managers were given targeted instructions to ensure the timely and high-quality execution of the tasks specified in the Roadmap.

During the meeting, perspective directions of the agenda of the forthcoming visit of the Working Group to the Islamic Republic of Pakistan were also analyzed. In particular, it was instructed to intensify cooperation with the Pakistani side on the issues of joint use of seaports, increasing the number of flights between the two countries, facilitating the visa regime and customs procedures for cargo carriers, creating joint ventures for processing and exporting fruits and vegetables, organizing reciprocal fairs of industrial products in Tashkent and Islamabad.

Responsible managers were tasked to accelerate the implementation of joint Uzbek-Pakistani industrial cooperation projects in the production of electrical, chemical, pharmaceutical products, a number of projects within the framework of interregional cooperation in the textile, tourism industries, and the production of building materials.

In preparation for the visit of the Working Group to Singapore, opportunities were explored to expand areas of cooperation and implement joint projects in agriculture, energy, engineering, chemical and textile production, transport and logistics, IT, cultural and humanitarian sphere and other areas.

In particular, instructions were given to work out the joint implementation of a project for the construction of a modern logistics center in the Tashkent region, a dry port (logistics hub) in Andijan region, and the modernization of the country’s airports. In a similar vein, the prospects for the implementation of projects for the exchange of experience and advanced training of medical workers, mutual supplies of pharmaceutical products and the establishment of cooperation between universities of the two countries were considered.

Opportunities for the development of investment cooperation between Uzbekistan and Singapore were studied separately. The relevant leaders were instructed to intensify work on the creation of the Uzbek-Singapore Joint Investment Company, the National Investment Fund, the Business Council and the Association of Entrepreneurs with the participation of representatives of leading companies from the two countries.

Also during the meeting, issues of preparation for the upcoming state visit of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to the Republic of Uzbekistan on 21-22 December 2022 were discussed.

As a result of the meeting, the responsible leaders were given instructions for the qualitative and timely implementation of all the plans of the Working Groups and tasks in terms of expanding the economic agenda of the high-level visit.