The Deputy Investments Minister Badriddin Abidov met with the Georgian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Khvtisiashvili Monday as part of the 11th round of political consultations between the foreign ministries of the two countries .

The parties reportedly discussed the current state and prospects for advancing bilateral cooperation in the trade, economic, investment and tourism fields and noted that the year 2018 was marked by an decrease in the two-way turnover volume, partly due to decrease in exports of cotton fiber by uzbekistan.

The parties however highlighted the huge potential for stepping up cooperation, including the development of mediation trade with the participation of Georgia, and a number of developed countries in the free trade zone (China, Hong Kong, Turkey, CIS countries).

“Currently, there is an active construction and reconstruction ongoing in Georgia of its transport infrastructure: airports, roads. The first deep-water port project will open the way for large ships, which currently stop and do unloading in neighboring countries, ”Alexander Khvtisiashvili said.“ While, the hub port can open broad transit opportunities for cargo delivery to Europe and Asia. ”

The Georgian side stressed that it is watching with interest the large-scale socio-economic reform efforts in Uzbekistan and is ready to share its experience on the implementation of economic reforms, including accession to the World Trade Organization.

The sides also discussed the prospects for further development of cooperation in agriculture, tourism, hydropower, transport, light industry, and pharmaceuticals through attracting foreign direct investment,s and Uzbek officials proposed to hold a business forum with the participation of textile and garment-knitting enterprises of Uzbekistan and Georgia, and to send Uzbek executives to the Tbilisi Silk Road Forum in October this year.