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By Kamila Aliyeva

Uzbekistan and Turkey signed more than 20 documents, reached an agreement on investment projects following the results of the fruitful negotiations held in Kuksaroy, the press service of the Uzbek president reported.

Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan signed a joint statement on raising the Uzbek-Turkish strategic cooperation to a new level.

As many as 23 documents have been signed between the governments, ministries and departments of the two countries on cooperation in the economic, trade, transport, logistics, industrial, energy, scientific, educational, tourism and other spheres.

In addition, it is expected to reach agreements worth $3 billion on more than 50 new investment projects at the Uzbek-Turkish business forum taking place in Tashkent.

Mirziyoyev and Erdogan continued negotiations with the participation of official delegations of the two countries on April 30.

We are pleased that our multifaceted relations based on common values ​​are rising to a completely new level, the Uzbek leader said.

“Our conversation in a narrow circle once again confirmed the existence of a great political will for the development of cooperation between our countries. We have openly and in detail examined all issues directly relating to the interests of our peoples and states, both current and future plans,” he added.

Erdogan, for his part, noted that the growth of indicators of economic interaction, which was the result of our dialogue over the past few years, indicates that we are on the right track.

“The results are obvious. Turkish business people aspire to Uzbekistan. In Uzbekistan, there are ample opportunities for Turkish firms and companies, tourists,” he said.

The state visit of the Uzbek president to Turkey last October became a historic one. In 2017, the volume of bilateral trade increased by 30 percent and amounted to $1.5 billion. In the first quarter of this year, this indicator increased by 20 percent.

During the talks, it was noted that there are all the possibilities for bringing the volume of trade to $5 billion in the coming years. In this regard, the main focus is on the development of trade and economic relations. The parties outlined promising areas of cooperation and put forward projects.

Uzbekistan is ready to expand supply of products of light, chemical, metallurgical industry, engineering, electrical engineering, leather and footwear and agricultural goods to the Turkish market. The Uzbek-Turkish trade house, opened in Istanbul, is set to play an important role in this.

Special attention was also paid to strengthening cooperation in the field of transport communications and transit. The great importance of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railroad was noted for the intensification of trade. In this regard, the importance of further optimizing transit tariffs was emphasized.

The issues of strengthening investment and financial and technical cooperation, development of ties in the spheres of tourism, health, culture and others were considered.

Moreover, following the high-level talks, Uzbekistan and Turkey agreed to establish the Supreme Council for Strategic Cooperation, according to Shavkat Mirziyoyev.

The head of Uzbekistan noted that the Presidents of Uzbekistan and Turkey will chair the Supreme Council for Strategic Cooperation.

The Turkish president arrived in Uzbekistan on a state visit at the invitation of President Mirziyoyev on April 29.

There are currently about 500 companies in Uzbekistan with Turkish capital, 100 of which are representation offices. They carry out activities in the sectors of textile, food, hotel management, building materials, plastic, medication, and services. The investments of the Turkish side in the economy of Uzbekistan are about $ 1 billion.

There are 114 companies in Turkey with Uzbek capital. Only last year more than 20 enterprises with the participation of Turkey's investments were organized and 53 companies were accredited in Uzbekistan.

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

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