Oriented on making people closer

On March 13, the fourth meeting of the joint working group on interaction between the EEC and the Government of the Republic of Uzbekistan was held at the headquarters of the Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC). The meeting, dedicated to enhancing trade and economic cooperation, was co-chaired by Minister for Integration and Macroeconomics of the EEC Eldar Alisherov and Deputy Minister of Investments, Industry and Trade of the Republic of Uzbekistan Khurram Teshabaev.

“Trade and economic cooperation between the EAEU member states and the Republic of Uzbekistan is strategic in both its scale and the breadth of the range of goods and has a consistently positive trend. The Republic of Uzbekistan ranks first among the Union’s trading partners from the CIS countries. Uzbekistan accounts for almost half of the value of trade between the EAEU and the CIS countries. Our trade reflects the mutually complementary nature of the economies of the EAEU member states and the Republic of Uzbekistan,” the EEC website quotes Eldar Alisherov as saying.

The Uzbek side confirmed the fruitfulness of interaction with the EAEU, noting that effective platforms have been created to stimulate business dialogue, hundreds of large projects in the field of industrial cooperation and infrastructure are being implemented. Uzbekistan systematically participates in intergovernmental and interdepartmental meetings, economic forums and exhibitions, consultations and high-level meetings held under the auspices of the EAEU.

During the meeting, the parties discussed specific issues of digitalization of the transport sector, increasing the efficiency of logistics routes in mutual trade, developing possible approaches to organizing the exchange of information on goods and vehicles for international transportation moved across the customs borders of the EAEU and Uzbekistan, as well as cooperation in the areas of competition and consumer protection. The importance of implementing the joint project of the EAEU member states "Eurasian Agroexpress" in the direction of Uzbekistan for the development of transport and logistics supply chains for agricultural products and food, including the development of new logistics routes for the mutual supply of products was noted.

The EEC representatives expressed their readiness to consider the possibilities of ensuring mutual recognition of means of identification of medicinal products between the EAEU and Uzbekistan, the participation of Uzbek companies in joint cooperation projects in industry and the agro-industrial complex. Following the meeting, Uzbekistan's proposal to hold regular consultations in March 2025 on the formation of a single customs transit system between the EAEU and Uzbekistan was supported. The parties also agreed with the initiative of the EAEU Business Council and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Uzbekistan to hold a joint business dialogue in April 2025.

The fifth meeting of the joint working group in 2026 will be held in Uzbekistan.

Photo: eec.eaeunion.org