Tashkent is hosting a Uzbekistan-Kazakhstan business forum, which was attended by Deputy PM/ Minister of Investments and Foreign Trade Jamshid Khodjaev on Wednesday.
In such turbulent times, cooperation based not only on mutual trust and respect, but also on strong friendship, has become crucial,” Jamshid Khodjaev said at his opening remarks.
According to him, in recent years, the trade between Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan had more than doubled, and overall in 2022 it will approach $5 billion.
“We have set the task of bringing the two-way trade to $10 billion, including through active import substitution. Joint foreign trade company will be created in the near future to this end, he added.
He also said that there were about 1,200 Kazakh-invested enterprises in Uzbekistan. Literally five years ago, this figure was almost 6 times less. In just 9 months of this year, 130 joint ventures have been set up.
According to Jamshid Khodjaev, it was precisely the provinces of the two countries that were deepening the bilateral partnership between Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan.
“In recent years, we have managed to significantly expand the scope and depth of interprovincial partnerships, which cover more and more areas. However, it is important to continue the further development of interregional ties so that absolutely all regions of our countries are involved in joint projects and initiatives,” he said.
Jamshid Khodjaev announced the signing of roadmaps for cooperation between Tashkent and Turkestan, Navoi and Kyzylorda provinces.
He called Kazakh partners to joint cultivation of fruits and vegetables in Uzbekistan, and also proposed to implement joint projects for the cultivation of cattle, grain, oilseeds and fodder crops in Kazakhstan.
He noted, one of these days Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan will adopt a separate road map with specific investment agriculture projects and trade deals.
“Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan do not compete In many areas and sectors of the economy and can effectively complement each other,” said Jamshid Khodjaev.
He also stressed that it was most significant to combine the efforts of the two countries to create high-tech industries based on the comparative advantages of Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan and develop industrial cooperation for the production of high value-added products for further joint development of third-country markets.
In this regard, the signing of an agreement with Kazakhstan on the establishment of an international center for industrial cooperation is expected tomorrow.
“Automotive industry, electronics and electrical engineering, energy, pharmaceuticals, chemical and textile industries, production of building materials are just a few of the promising areas of cooperation between Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan,” Jamshid Khodjaev concluded.
