The Prime Minister Abdulla Aripov attended the meeting of the Council of CIS Heads of Government, the press service of the PM Aripov’s said. In his remarks, PM Aripov called for stepping up joint work on the effective functioning of the CIS free trade zone "without exceptions and restrictions."

Reportedly, Uzbekistan is already completing procedures for joining the 2009 Rules for Determining the Country of Origin of Goods and unifying excise tax rates on imported and domestically manufactured products.

In addition, domestic procedures for ratifying the Agreement on Free Trade in Services, Establishment, Activities and Investments are being completed.

Abdulla Aripov called on CIS partners to take similar measures on an equal basis - first of all, to cancel tariff and non-tariff measures applied to certain raw materials and food products.

In addition, the Prime Minister spoke in favor of the swift approval and adoption of a set of additional measures developed by Uzbekistan to attract and boost investment within the CIS until 2030.

In order to simplify access of goods to the CIS markets on a reciprocal basis, it is also advisable to intensify work on coordinating draft agreements on technical barriers and mutual recognition of accreditation of conformity assessment bodies, the head of government underscored.

Abdulla Aripov also emphasized the need to give a new impetus to the development of international transport routes and strengthen joint work on the implementation of North-South and East-West transport and logistics projects.

The Prime Minister recalled that today there are 14 branches of Russian universities in Uzbekistan, and this year joint efforts were launched to open a branch of the Bauman Moscow Technical University in Tashkent.

Abdulla Aripov also underscored that the President of Uzbekistan recently signed a law on the ratification of the Treaty on the Establishment of the International Organization of the Russian Language under the Auspices of the CIS. "We are confident that the activities of this organization will contribute to the further strengthening of friendship and good neighborliness, the promotion of the Russian language as the language of interstate communication," the head of government said.

He also spoke about the celebration of the 80th anniversary of the Victory in 2025.

"This is our common victory. In Uzbekistan, they remember at what price we won the Victory. According to official data, which continues to be clarified, about 2 million natives of Uzbekistan went to the front, of which about 540 thousand died, 160 thousand went missing. During the war, our republic accepted about 1.5 million evacuated citizens, including more than 250 thousand orphans. In addition, the multinational people of Uzbekistan made a significant contribution to the Victory on the labor front," the head of government said.

"In these difficult times, it is important to preserve the memory of this difficult period of our shared history and prevent a repetition of those tragic events," Abdulla Aripov emphasized.

In conclusion, he wished Tajikistan Prime Minister Kokhir Rasulzoda success in his upcoming chairmanship of the CIS Council of Heads of Government in 2025.

18 documents were inked at the meeting, including:

• Memorandum of Cooperation in the Field of Digitalization of Transport Sector;
• Priority Action Plan in the Sphere of Humanitarian Cooperation for 2025-2026;
• Program for Development of Cooperation until 2030 in the Field of Study, Use, Protection and Monitoring of Groundwater, as well as a plan for its implementation;
• Separate decision on the budget and financing of the organization for 2025, and others.