Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan signed investment and trade agreements worth $451 million during the first interregional forum in Bukhara. The press service of the Uzbek Ministry of Investment and Foreign Trade (MIFT) writes about this.

According to the press service, the forum took place on the eve of the visit of Turkmen President Serdar Berdimuhamedov to Uzbekistan on July 14-15. The forum was attended by Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Investments and Foreign Trade of Uzbekistan Sardor Umurzakov and Deputy Prime Minister of Turkmenistan Batyr Atdaev.

“As a result of the forum, investment and trade agreements were signed for a total of $451 million,” the MIFT said in a statement. During the forum, a stable growth in trade between the two countries was noted, the parties reaffirmed their commitment to bringing the volume of trade to $2 billion in the near future, the report says.

In this context, an agreement was reached to speed up the launch of the Lebap-Bukhara and Dashoguz-Khorezm border trade zones.

“Joint measures were discussed to develop transport and logistics links and increase the transit potential of the two countries,” the MIFT noted.

In particular, in 2021, the volume of cargo transportation between Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan increased to 2.2 million tons, primarily due to the growth of road transport (+1.5 times) and rail transport (+3 times). “In this context, mechanisms were discussed to improve the conditions for tariff regulation of direct and transit transportation, as well as joint actions to diversify transport routes,” the press service added.

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