Azernews.Az

By Abdul Kerimkhanov

An important direction in the foreign policy of Uzbekistan is the development and strengthening of its foreign economic activity, integration into the world economy.

This is facilitated by the fact that Uzbekistan is located at the crossroads of the economic and trade routes of Eurasia.

The Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Republic together with the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Uzbekistan organized an agribusiness forum "Netherlands - Uzbekistan" and "B2B" meeting with the business circles of the two countries on March 12, 2019.

The Dutch delegation led by the Ambassador (with residence in Moscow) Renee Jones-Bos included representatives of 45 leading Dutch companies in various sectors of agriculture.

During the meeting, the delegation of the Netherlands got acquainted with the ongoing reforms in Uzbekistan to improve the investment climate, liberalize the economy, and ensure the protection of the legitimate rights and interests of entrepreneurs.

The business circles of the two countries discussed the prospects of further development of the Uzbek-Netherlands trade and economic cooperation in the "B2B" format, including an exchange of views on the intensification of partnerships between Dutch and Uzbek enterprises.

The trade turnover between Uzbekistan and the Netherlands amounted to $ 147.26 million in 2018, of which $ 11.58 million are exports and $135.68 million are imports.

The structure of Uzbekistan’s exports to the Netherlands consists of base metals, machinery and equipment, fruits and vegetables, inorganic chemicals, textiles, plastic products, etc. Uzbekistan imports from the Netherlands chemical products, machinery and equipment, fruits and vegetables, pets, optical instruments, food products, etc.

As many as 47 enterprises with the participation of Dutch capital are functioning in Uzbekistan, including 30 joint ventures and 17 with 100 percent Dutch capital. The republic has accredited representative offices of nine Dutch companies that operate in the food and light industries.

The delegation plans to visit agricultural enterprises of Namangan region to demonstrate the potential and opportunities for further development of mutually beneficial cooperation, as well as take part in the International Exhibition AgroWorld-2019 in Tashkent on March 14.

Diplomatic relations between Uzbekistan and the Netherlands were established on September 10, 1992.

The country attaches great importance to cooperation with Uzbekistan within the EU.

The Netherlands is the second largest exporter of agri-food products in the world. The agricultural sector has a high level of mechanization. In agriculture, only 2 percent of the working population is employed, but the sector produces significant surplus value, both for the food sector and for export.

The Netherlands is the 20th largest economy in the world and the fifth largest economy in the Eurozone.

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Abdul Kerimkhanov is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @AbdulKerim94

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