Today, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev met with President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko, who arrived in Samarkand to attend the summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, the presidential press service reported.

At the beginning of the meeting, Alexander Lukashenko expressed his gratitude to Shavkat Mirziyoyev for supporting the procedure for launching the admission of Belarus to the SCO.

The two leaders exchanged views on topical issues on the bilateral agenda, the expansion of multifaceted cooperation, international and regional politics.

President Shavkat Mirziyoyev noted that Uzbek-Belarusian ties were continuing to develop successfully in the spirit of friendship and partnership.

Bilateral trade and economic cooperation is actively developing. The two-way trade increased by 44% last year, and by another 12% in the first seven months of this year.

The parties agreed to expedite to expand the network of trading houses and logistics centers in the two countries, launching the Agroexpress project for the accelerated delivery of food, and introducing an electronic system for certification of the origin of goods.

The counterparts stressed the need to promote mutually beneficial partnership in the field of industrial cooperation in mechanical engineering, agro-industrial complex, chemical, pharmaceutical and electrical industries and noted the importance of using the potential of the regions of the two countries. Shavkat Mirziyoyev proposed to hold the second Interregional Forum in Uzbekistan.

The parties commended the active development of cooperation in the cultural and humanitarian sphere, primarily in the fields of education and cinematography.

Agroexpress is a project that provides for swift deliveries of products between Russia and Uzbekistan. It is implemented with the support of the Russian Export Center, Russian Railways (RZD) and integrates the work of the railways of Uzbekistan, Russia and Kazakhstan. The first Agroexpress performed a test transportation in November-December 2021.