Vice-premiers of Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan in charge of trade, Batyr Atdayev and Zhamshid Khojaev, chaired the next meeting of the joint meeting on trade, economic, scientific, technical and cultural cooperation in Tashkent on July 16.

The 18th meeting of the participants of the Turkmen-Uzbek commission, including heads of key ministries and departments, industry associations, regional administrations of the two countries, included an analysis of the current state of bilateral cooperation, the implementation of existing agreements and discussion of counter proposals for the diversification of trade and economic cooperation and industrial cooperation. There was a significant increase in trade volumes, which at the end of the last year exceeded $1 billion. At the same time, the expediency of fully engaging a broader potential was emphasized, including through the launch of cross-border trade zones.

The parties considered current issues of expanding industrial cooperation in the chemical, automotive, electrical industries, as well as measures to develop such formats of cooperation as the Forum of Regions, meetings of the joint Business Council, trade and industrial exhibitions, which are effective platforms for deepening interaction between the business communities of our countries, UzDaily.uz reports.

The prospects for the development of cooperation in the field of transport and logistics in the context of expanding transport connectivity between the two countries were discussed separately. In this aspect, the possibilities of joining existing and planned multimodal transport corridors and resolving issues of simplifying visa procedures for participants in international transport on the territory of two states were considered.

The parties also considered prospects for increasing cultural and humanitarian cooperation. In this area, priorities are the creation of joint educational programs, training of personnel in the field of agriculture and water management, exchange of teachers and students, as well as the development of new initiatives for the development of tourism. Following the meeting, the parties signed the Final Protocol of the 18th meeting of the Joint Commission and agreements that open up new opportunities for the mutual supply of in-demand goods and services.

The previous, 17th meeting of the joint commission on trade, economic, scientific, technical and cultural cooperation was held in March 2023 in Ashgabat.

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