Important documents were signed between Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan

Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan account for 80 percent of trade in the Central Asian region. At the moment, there are opportunities for further expansion of trade and economic relations. This was noted at the twentieth meeting of the intergovernmental joint commission on bilateral cooperation held in Tashkent on May 5. At the meeting chaired by Prime Minister of Uzbekistan Abdulla Aripov and Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Alikhan Smailov, it was noted that bilateral relations are actively developing based on the principles of strategic partnership and alliance. It was emphasized that the joint efforts of presidents Shavkat Mirziyoyev and Kasim-Jomart Toqayev are an important factor. In the last five years, the trade has more than doubled. In particular, last year its volume was 4.6 billion dollars. The prime minister of Uzbekistan noted that industrial cooperation plays an important role in the expansion of economic cooperation. The head of the Kazakh government spoke about the implementation of transport infrastructure, in particular, railway projects in the China-Kazakhstan-Uzbekistan direction. At the meeting, views were also exchanged on further expansion of cooperation in energy, transport, agriculture and water management, education, health care and cultural and humanitarian spheres. At the end of the meeting, a number of documents were approved, including a road map for accelerating the establishment of the international structure of industrial cooperation "Central Asia" and a plan for joint efforts to protect the rights of labor migrants. As we previously reported, the two sister countries are also implementing a project to establish trade zones in the areas near the border. In these zones, it is planned to create an opportunity for citizens of the two countries to trade without obtaining entry-exit stamps. In February of this year, the prime ministers of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan met in Almaty and discussed the prospect of increasing the volume of trade to 10 billion dollars. Let's remind that Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Alikhan Smailov, who came to our country to participate in the meeting of the intergovernmental joint commission, also met with President Shavkat Mirziyoyev on May 5.