On December 5 of this year, the 19th meeting of the Uzbekistan-EU Cooperation Committee was held in Tashkent, in which the chairmen were: from the Uzbek side – Deputy Minister of Investment, Industry and Trade Badriddin Abidov, and from the EU – Deputy Director of the European External Economic Service Action for Eastern Europe and Central Asia Luke Devin.
According to the MIIT, the parties reviewed the current state and prospects for further expansion of cooperation in the field of improving law enforcement practice, protecting human rights and freedoms, as well as the political partnership agenda for 2024.
An exchange of views took place on the further development of financial, technical, trade, economic and investment cooperation. The main emphasis is on measures to liberalize and simplify trade procedures using the benefits of the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP+) of the European Union.
In this context, the dynamics of growth in trade turnover between Uzbekistan and the EU is highly appreciated. In just 10 months of 2023, the volume of mutual trade increased by 36% compared to the same period last year and amounted to $4.8 billion. Mutual conviction was expressed in the need to continue systematic work in this direction. The growth in exports of products from Uzbekistan to EU countries was especially noted; since 2021, the figure has increased 1.5 times – to $794.6 million at the end of 2022.
A separate discussion took place on the partnership in the energy sector, the main goal of which is to achieve a 1.5-fold reduction in the energy intensity of the Uzbek economy and increase its energy efficiency by 20% by 2030. In this area, 28 agreements have been concluded on the basis of public-private partnerships for the construction of large-scale solar and wind power plants with a total capacity of 11.5 GW. Another 16 projects totaling 12.8 GW are at the design and negotiation stage. The European side will provide the necessary consulting support to the development and implementation of green energy projects.
Discussing issues of further development of cooperation in the field of cargo transportation and logistics, the European side expressed its readiness to support Uzbekistan’s efforts to diversify transport corridors through the development of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route.
