Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan have signed 76 agreements totaling over $352 million, according to the press service of the Kazakh Prime Minister.
On October 22, the heads of government from both countries discussed the development of industrial cooperation, as well as collaboration in water, energy, transit, transport, and gas sectors at the interregional forum "Uzbekistan - Kazakhstan" in Samarkand.
Kazakh Prime Minister Olzhas Bektanov highlighted the significant export potential in the petrochemical, metallurgy, automotive, industrial, food, chemical, and pharmaceutical industries.
Kazakhstan is ready to increase its export supplies to Uzbekistan by over $550 million across 40 types of "high-value goods."
In turn, Prime Minister Abdulla Aripov emphasized the importance of developing interregional cooperation. The border regions have established "direct and close ties" with each other, but there is "a great potential that has yet to be realized," the official noted.
Photo: Press service of the Prime Minister
During the forum, the parties focused on the development of industrial cooperation, which includes the implementation of 74 joint projects with an investment volume of $3.4 billion. Of these, 65 projects are planned to be implemented in Kazakhstan.
Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan have signed an action plan to expedite the implementation of joint projects in energy, mining, and geology.
The Ministry of Investment and Foreign Trade reported that promising areas for collaboration between the countries include agriculture and the agro-industrial sector, textile production, consumer goods, and the exchange of experience and technologies.
As a result of B2B negotiations during the meeting of entrepreneurs from Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, 33 agreements were signed to establish cooperation between the regions.
Earlier, Spot reported that a free trade zone was proposed to be created at the border between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.