On July 16 this year, the 18th meeting of the Uzbekistan-Turkmenistan Joint Commission on Trade-Economic, Scientific-Technical, and Cultural Cooperation was held in Tashkent. 

The event was co-chaired by the Deputy Prime Minister of Uzbekistan, Jamshid Khodjaev, and the Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers of Turkmenistan, Batyr Atdayev. The meeting was attended by heads of ministries, departments, sectoral associations, and local government bodies of the two countries.

During the constructive exchange of views, the current state of bilateral cooperation, the progress of the implementation of existing agreements, and promising directions for further development of multifaceted relations were discussed.

It was noted that good results have been achieved in expanding trade and economic cooperation. Over the past five years, the volume of trade turnover has doubled, exceeding $1 billion by the end of last year. At the same time, it was noted that it is advisable to fully utilize the available opportunities, including launching trade zones on the Uzbekistan-Turkmenistan border.

The parties discussed urgent issues of developing industrial cooperation in the chemical, automotive, and electrical industries, as well as measures to develop cooperation formats such as regional forums, meetings of the Uzbekistan-Turkmenistan Business Council, and trade-industrial exhibitions, which serve as effective platforms for developing relations between the business circles of the two countries.

Prospects for developing cooperation in the transport-logistics sector, aimed at expanding transport connections between the two countries, were given special attention. Opportunities for integrating Turkmenistan into existing and planned multimodal transport corridors and resolving issues related to simplifying visa procedures for participants in international transportation through the territories of both states were considered.

Following the meeting, the parties signed the final protocol of the 18th meeting of the Joint Commission and agreements opening up new opportunities for mutual delivery of in-demand goods and services.