- 3
- 26.05.2023 07:33:00
- 6 min read
Dear Heads of Delegations,
I am sincerely glad to welcome the participants of the meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council.
I would like to join the words of my colleagues and express my gratitude to the President of the Russian Federation, dear Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, for organizing our meeting.
Undoubtedly, Russia's effective chairmanship in the EAEU will serve to promote new areas of multifaceted partnership between our countries.
Dear colleagues!
Uzbekistan, as an observer state at the EAEU, continues to actively participate in multilateral events and projects aimed at developing mutually beneficial trade and economic cooperation within the framework of the Association.
Firstly, effective work has been carried out jointly to create favorable conditions, search for new growth points and opportunities for expanding trade relations. According to the results of last year, Uzbekistan's trade turnover with the EAEU countries increased by 23%. Steady growth dynamics is also observed this year.
Secondly, we have made serious progress in the field of industrial cooperation. In recent years alone, hundreds of projects and enterprises have been launched in our country in priority sectors with the participation of companies from the countries of the Association.
Thirdly, effective platforms have been created to stimulate business dialogue, including involving the potential of the regions of our countries.
As an example, I would like to cite the International Industrial Exhibition "INNOPROM. Central Asia". In April, it was successfully held in Tashkent for the third time, more than 2 thousand companies from our countries were represented. As a result, investment agreements and trade contracts worth over $ 10 billion were concluded.
Fourth, we are strengthening institutional mechanisms - developing close and constructive cooperation with the Eurasian Economic Commission, taking an active part in the activities of the EAEU bodies.
Within the framework of the three-year Joint Work Plan, more than 200 events were held to harmonize legislation with international norms, exchange experience in regulating the economy, and eliminate barriers to the development of mutually beneficial cooperation in trade, economic, transport and communication spheres.
Uzbekistan has joined separate programs and sectoral projects in the field of trade facilitation, as well as in the fields of transport, agriculture, ecology and tourism.
Our immediate plans are to hold the next meeting of the joint Working Group in August this year.
At the same time, the analysis of the current situation also shows the presence of a number of constraining factors and unresolved issues. We are talking about the lack of mechanisms for implementing the initiatives of observer States aimed at developing practical cooperation within the framework of the Association.
In addition, issues related to the application of trade restrictions in the EAEU countries, including with regard to the supply of agricultural products, energy and other raw materials, have not been settled.
The projects initiated in the field of transport and logistics, in particular, on the accelerated mutual supply of high-quality and affordable food products, are not yet yielding the expected result.
Dear participants of the meeting!
The intensification of global challenges, serious gaps in transport and logistics chains, growing risks of food and energy security and other problems necessitate closer coordination to address the priorities of sustainable socio-economic development of our countries.
I hope that the current summit will allow us to "check the clock" and identify priority areas of practical cooperation.
First. Uzbekistan is ready to continue working together to simplify trade procedures and create conditions for a radical increase in the volume of trade turnover between our countries.
We believe that this will be facilitated by the adoption of an Agreement on the elimination of technical barriers and mutual recognition of certificates.
To this end, preparatory work on the harmonization of national technical regulations with the norms of the EAEU has been fully completed in Uzbekistan.
We will also continue to work on the development of mutual settlements in national currencies.
Second. In our opinion, the integration of electronic platforms and online systems of customs administration, sanitary, phytosanitary and veterinary supervision, as well as certification of origin of goods will contribute to the expansion of economic cooperation and business contacts.
We are ready to hold substantive consultations at the expert level to develop mechanisms for the implementation of this initiative.
The third. We consider it important to take joint measures to deepen industrial cooperation and localization as an important factor in creating new jobs and forming industrial hubs in the Eurasian space.
We are interested in participating in multilateral programs aimed at providing financial support for the implementation of cooperative projects. We are talking, among other things, about the initiatives of the business community in the field of reinsurance activities and practical cooperation of national development institutions.
In order to establish long-term partnerships at the business level, we also intend to join the activities of the EAEU Business Council.
Fourth. Cooperation in the field of transport and transit is a strategic direction of our partnership. In the current realities, it is important to strengthen joint work on the formation of alternative transport corridors and the creation of sustainable logistics chains.
We support the development of international North–South routes and other highways connecting our region with China, the countries of the Middle East and South Asia. We advocate close coordination on tariff policy issues.
We also invite you to join the work of the Project Office for the implementation of the Uzbekistan–Afghanistan–Pakistan railway construction project.
Fifth. We believe it is important to expand our cooperation in the field of food security. In this context, it is important:
- to stimulate the active substitution of imports of agricultural goods and food products with products produced in our countries,
- to ensure the full functioning of the "green" corridors, including the "Eurasian Agroexpress",
- to support the joint implementation of scientific and applied research and the introduction of innovations,
- to comprehensively promote the activities and encourage the development of cooperative ties between representatives of the agribusiness of our countries.
To this end, we propose to hold an Agricultural Forum in Uzbekistan in October this year in the format of "EAEU plus" with the participation of ministers of agriculture, leading producers and importers of food.
Sixth. Uzbekistan is also interested in broader cooperation in training highly qualified specialists, establishing partnerships between universities and vocational education centers, and participating in joint research support projects.
We consider it necessary to develop a "roadmap" for the joint training of in-demand personnel in engineering and technical specialties.
Dear participants of the summit!
I would like to thank my colleagues once again for supporting Uzbekistan's participation in programs and projects of multilateral partnership within the framework of the Eurasian Economic Union.
I am convinced that the results of today's meeting will contribute to the development of new directions, forms and mechanisms of mutually beneficial cooperation for the sustainable development and prosperity of our countries.
Thank you for your attention.
