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By Trend

With US Agency for International Development’ (USAID) support, Uzbekistan has joined the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC), which sets global pest management standards, Information Officer of US Embassy in Tashkent Susannah Wood told Trend, commenting on the current project being implemented within the framework of the C5+1.

Wood noted that C5+1 is a diplomatic platform for addressing common challenges faced by the United States and the five Central Asian states.

"Through this platform, the U.S. government partners with governments, the private sector, and other donors to improve enabling environments for business, create business-friendly policies, and attract foreign investment in Central Asia," she explained.

She added that these efforts seek to streamline the time and cost of moving goods across borders, reduce customs barriers, and increase the use of renewable energy throughout the region. "Many of these measures are key aspects of membership in the World Trade Organization (WTO)," Wood outlined.

"USAID is providing technical assistance to help Uzbekistan to join and comply with WTO procedures, enabling it to benefit from participation in the rules-based system of global trade," she said.

According to Wood, the IPPC is an international treaty that applies to most nations involved with international trade in any commodity that could introduce a new plant pest into a new area. It is applicable to all trans-boundary movements of plants and plant products.

She stressed that membership implies that Uzbekistan can play an active part in developing international standards that help to protect its exported and imported goods.

The US Agency for International Development is partnering with national export promotions agencies and has developed a ten-step horticulture export guide and sixteen-hour training courses to diversify horticulture sales. A directory profiles over 120 growers from across Central Asia and their products for buyers across the world. The directory was developed as an easily accessible catalog to showcase Central Asian growers, processors, and trading companies willing and ready to export their horticultural products.

"Through C5+1, USAID supports the development of competitive enterprises throughout Central Asia so that domestic enterprises can create jobs and improve incomes, leveraging the expertise and technology of American firms whenever possible," the information officer summed up.

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