Azernews.Az

By Kamila Aliyeva

Turkey and Uzbekistan seek to upgrade bilateral relations based on mutual economic interests.

Uzbek and Turkish entrepreneurs signed agreements worth $3.5 billion for the implementation of more than 30 joint projects during a business forum in Istanbul on October 26.

The business forum was held as part of Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev’s state visit to Turkey.

The Uzbek president’s press service has said that the agreements were signed in the sphere of construction of large energy facilities and road infrastructure, production of textile products, electrical equipment, construction materials, etc.

The high-level talks held between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Uzbek counterpart showed that the parties have close positions on a number of important issues on the international agenda, according to Mirziyoyev.

He also noted the need for more intensive development of relations between the business communities of the two countries.

Easing visa regime for the citizens of Turkey will play an important role in this respect, the Uzbek leader emphasized.

"All this is the beginning of the great work that we have to perform. There should be no visas between fraternal peoples. We are striving for this," he said.

Mirziyoyev also stressed that bigger goals should be set in order to achieve better results.

"We say that in nine months our turnover has grown by 29 percent. This is very small. We must set big goals ... I set a target of $5-6 billion, and we will achieve this," the Uzbek president added.

During the visit, an agreement was reached to bring the trade turnover between Uzbekistan and Turkey to $3-4 billion per year in the near future, which will create broad opportunities for business circles of the two countries.

Following talks in Ankara, Uzbek and Turkish leaders signed more than 20 documents.

Turkey became the first country to recognize Uzbekistan’s independence on 16 December 1991. The diplomatic relations were established between two countries on 4 March 1992.

More than 90 bilateral agreements and protocols were signed to form the legal basis of relations and numerous mutual high-level visits were carried out. These documents cover the spheres of trade, economy, science, transport, culture and others.

There are currently 700 companies in Uzbekistan with Turkish capital, 100 of which are representation offices. They carry out activities in the sectors of textile, commitment, food, hotel management, building materials, plastic, medication, and service. There are 114 companies in Turkey with Uzbek capital.

In 2016, the mutual trade turnover between the countries reached $1.2 billion. In February 2017, Turkey and Uzbekistan signed cooperation agreement to boost economic relations.

---

Kamila Aliyeva is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Kami_Aliyeva

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz