MINSK, 13 September (BelTA) — The participants of the Uzbek-Belarusian forum of business and interregional cooperation signed 82 export-import contracts to the tune of $193.3 million, reached agreements on the investment projects worth $38 million, BelTA learned from the website of the Uzbekistan Ministry for Foreign Trade.
About 500 Belarusian and Uzbek entrepreneurs, representatives of ministries and departments took part in the forum and business matchmaking event. The events took place in Tashkent on 12 September within the framework of the official visit of Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko to Uzbekistan.
The co-chairs of the intergovernmental commission for trade and economic cooperation Belarusian Deputy Prime Minister Mikhail Rusy and Uzbekistan's Deputy Prime Minister Nodir Otajonov addressed the forum. The parties particularly noted that the trade between Belarus and Uzbekistan has been growing for the second year in a row. This positive trend gave a start to new cooperation projects, stimulated investment and commodity flows. The joint enterprise Amkodor-Agrotekhmash to produce road-building and special equipment has been set up at the Tashkent Agricultural Machinery Plant and is an example of the successful industrial cooperation between the two countries. A store selling Belarusian goods has opened in the center of Tashkent. Active work is underway to open a similar Uzbek store in Minsk.
Light, electrical, agricultural, mining, engineering and food industries, joint production of construction materials were outlined as the promising areas of bilateral cooperation.
The business forum also highlighted the importance of inter-regional relations between the two countries for the development of mutually beneficial trade a, economic and investment cooperation. The parties noted the high impact the the visits exchanged between regions of Uzbekistan in Belarus.
The chambers of commerce of Tashkent and Minsk, and also those of Tashkent Oblast and Gomel Oblast signed agreements on cooperation to intensify interregional cooperation between businessmen of Uzbekistan and Belarus.
The two countries expressed interest in further strengthening of bilateral cooperation between the standardization bodies, mutual exchange of experience in the application of international standards, accreditation of laboratories with international certification bodies, and the development of an efficient system of personnel training.
