Opening the meeting of the Council, the head of state sincerely greeted President Vladimir Putin and representatives of the Russian delegation, including heads of about 30 regions and 300 representatives of leading industrial enterprises and businesses.
“Such cooperation is highly effective and contributes to the expansion of long-term partnership between Uzbekistan and Russia,” the President emphasized.
Currently, over 200 joint projects worth $4 billion are being implemented at the regional level. As part of the Council meeting, a new package of agreements worth more than $5 billion was prepared.
It was noted with satisfaction that during the talks at the highest level, new ambitious goals were set – increasing the volume of trade turnover to $30 billion in the coming years and disbursing up to $10 billion of investments next year.
Noting that the regions of the two countries are intended to become the main driver for achieving the set goals, the head of our state outlined a number of priorities for cooperation.
First of all, this is an increase in mutual trade. Over the last 7 years alone, Uzbekistan’s trade turnover with Russia has increased 2.5 times. The structure of mutual supplies has improved qualitatively, primarily due to products with high added value.
Among the main partners are the cities of Moscow and St. Petersburg, Tatarstan, Moscow, Leningrad, Novosibirsk, Astrakhan, Ivanovo, Chelyabinsk regions, Krasnoyarsk, Perm Territory, Bashkortostan and many others.
Action plans have been adopted to increase trade turnover by increasing cooperation and import substitution projects, primarily with the active involvement of the regions in this process.
To support trade and cooperation projects, a full-fledged trade mission of Uzbekistan will be opened in Russia.
The dynamics of investment and technological cooperation were highly assessed. More than three thousand Russian companies operate successfully in Uzbekistan.
Projects are being implemented in the fields of energy, chemistry and petrochemistry, mechanical engineering, agriculture, logistics, textile and food industries and other industries. The Khimgrad industrial zone in the Tashkent region, launched with partners from Tatarstan, is expanding, with a branch in the Jizzakh region.
- The total portfolio of joint projects already exceeds $45 billion. As part of the current summit, agreements were reached on new cooperation projects for another 20 billion dollars, a quarter of which falls on the regions, said the head of our state.
Plans were supported to create new joint industrial zones to promote cooperation projects with leading enterprises in Russian regions.
Expanding cooperation in the field of agriculture has been highlighted as a priority. The importance of continuing work to expand the network of agrological centers in the regions of Uzbekistan was noted.
The regions have been tasked with developing wholesale distribution centers in Russia and jointly growing crops with further supplies to our country.
Having focused on the importance of developing tools for supporting and financing regional projects, the head of our state announced the creation of a joint investment platform.
Particular attention is paid to expanding cultural and humanitarian exchange. 14 branches of leading Russian universities have been created in Uzbekistan, including Moscow and St. Petersburg State Universities in Tashkent, MISIS University of Science and Technology in Almalyk, Kazan Federal University in Jizzakh and many others.
During the visit, agreements were reached on the establishment in our country of branches of the Bauman Moscow State Technical University and the All-Russian Academy of Foreign Trade. A three-year Cultural Cooperation Program was adopted.
The President of Uzbekistan emphasized the importance of expanding tourist exchanges. Over the past few years alone, the number of Russian tourists has increased 5 times. All major cities of Uzbekistan and Russia are connected by regular flights.
In turn, President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin, highly appreciating the positive trends in the development of multifaceted relations with our country, emphasized the importance of strengthening existing business contacts, including between the regions of Russia and Uzbekistan. He called on representatives of the business community to more actively participate in the implementation of joint projects and initiatives.
