Events

TASHKENT, 2 November (BelTA) – Belarus’ Prime Minister Andrei Kobyakov and Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev discussed the ways of expanding all-round Belarus-Uzbek cooperation in a meeting in Tashkent on 2 November, BelTA has learned.

The preparation of the visit of Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko to Uzbekistan was also on the agenda of the meeting.

The agenda also included the issues regarding the organization of the next meeting of the bilateral intergovernmental commission. On behalf of Belarus it is chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Mikhail Rusy. It is planned that the meeting will be held in Minsk, the date is yet to be agreed. The commission is supposed to work out the issues that the two heads of state outlined during the visit of the Belarus president to Uzbekistan in 2016. The intergovernmental commission will also approve the road map for trade and economic cooperation, the preparation of which is already at the final stage. Belarus also invited the Uzbek side to sign the new treaty on trade and economic cooperation.

Andrei Kobyakov and Shavkat Mirziyoyev reviewed specific projects to promote industrial cooperation, to raise investment. Amkodor has opened its representative office in Uzbekistan. A facility to manufacture of tractors has been set up. This year it has assembled 150 tractors out of Belarusian kits. Belarus hopes this cooperation will be growing further. Thus, the parties are moving away from trade towards industrial cooperation. Twenty-three Belarusian organizations and two distribution networks have been registered in Uzbekistan.

The parties also examined the cooperation in pharmaceutics, high technologies, the supply of elevators for the housing stock of Uzbekistan, road-building machinery and materials.

In 2017 the trade between Belarus and Uzbekistan has started to recover. In January-August, it increased almost twice as against the same period of 2016.

Belarus increased its exports 2.6 times to $52 million. The countries had their highest trade in 2012-2013 with Belarusian exports reaching $95 million.

Uzbekistan took a decision to open an embassy in Minsk. The appointment of ambassador is expected soon.