UZBEKISTAN, April 2 - The event was attended by representatives of relevant ministries and departments, as well as the business community of the two countries.

During the meeting, issues of further development of cooperation in investment, industrial, trade, economic, cultural and humanitarian areas were discussed.

Within the framework of the intergovernmental dialogue, the positive dynamics of trade turnover growth was noted. Over the past 6 years, foreign trade between the two countries has almost doubled. Last year alone, trade between Uzbekistan and Georgia increased by more than 30%. The parties agreed to jointly increase the trade turnover to $500 million in the coming years. To achieve this goal, it was proposed to develop and approve within two weeks a Plan of Practical Measures to further deepen trade and economic cooperation during 2023-2024, including measures to organize mutual trade missions, as well as exhibitions of the industrial potential of the two countries.

On the interregional partnership, special emphasis was placed on the development of ties involving absolutely all regions of Georgia and Uzbekistan in joint projects and initiatives. In this regard, it was proposed to establish bilateral partnership relations between Samarkand and Batumi, as well as Bukhara and Mtskheta at the first stage.

The parties noted the relevance of establishing industrial cooperation, in the context of which the potential of implementing joint projects in the areas of production of advanced pharmaceuticals, finished agricultural products, mineral fertilizers, as well as the creation of clusters for the production of alcoholic beverages was considered.

The parties paid special attention to the development of transport and logistics partnership. In particular, the Baku-Tbilisi–Kars transport corridor and the developed Black Sea port infrastructure of Georgia.

Following the event, a number of bilateral documents were signed, including the Final Minutes of the meeting, an agreement between the Government of the Republic of Uzbekistan and the Government of Georgia on cooperation in the field of technical regulation, standardization, metrology and conformity assessment, as well as a Protocol on the completion of bilateral negotiations on access to the market of goods and services between Georgia and the Republic of Uzbekistan within the framework of the accession of Uzbekistan to the World Trade Organization (WTO).