On the eve, a round table was organized in Tashkent by the Institute of Strategic and Interregional Studies under the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan, the Information and Analytical Center for International Relations and the Development Strategy Center, Dunyo news agency reported.

The discussions were attended by representatives of these analytical centers, the Tashkent State Institute of Oriental Studies and independent experts. The Turkish side was represented by employees of the Embassy of the Republic of Turkey in Tashkent and the Turkish International Cooperation Agency (TIKA).

During the round table, a thorough exchange of views took place on the prospects for the development of long-term relations between Uzbekistan and Turkey, taking into account the agreements reached during the official visit of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev to this country in February this year.

Participants of the event noted the raising of relations between Uzbekistan and Turkey to a qualitatively new level of strategic partnership. This is evidenced by the holding of the first meeting of the Uzbek-Turkish Council of strategic cooperation at the highest level in Ankara on February 19 this year. This body has become a new format of dialogue between the two countries, operating under the co-chairmanship of the presidents.

The event noted that the promotion of strategic cooperation with the Republic of Turkey is fully consistent with the foreign policy of Uzbekistan. The deepening of bilateral relations will contribute to the further development of trade, economic and investment relations, the transport and communication component of the interaction between the two countries.

Given the current level of Uzbek-Turkish cooperation, a department for cooperation with Uzbekistan has been opened as part of the Department of Budget and Investment under the Administration of the President of Turkey.

Participants noted that the two states have tremendous opportunities in developing business partnerships. The high investment potential of Turkey and the presence of increased interest in building up its presence in the Uzbek market will serve as the basis for building up bilateral investment cooperation. In this context, the parties noted the activation of the business circles of the two countries. It was noted that over 750 Turkish enterprises have been created in Uzbekistan over the past two years, and by February of this year the number of firms with the participation of Turkish capital reached 1306.

At the event, indicators of trade and economic cooperation between Uzbekistan and Turkey were announced, which in 2019 reached US$2.5 billion, as well as plans to bring bilateral trade to 5 billion in the coming years. Within the framework of the Council for Strategic Cooperation, mechanisms have been developed for implementing this task.

During the meeting, experts also discussed the possibility of developing cooperation between Uzbekistan and the Turkish Agency for International Cooperation, in particular in the field of digital economy development.

Currently, TIKA with the involved ministries and departments of Uzbekistan is implementing projects to introduce digital technologies in the field of finance, the tax system. The issues of joint training in vocational colleges are being studied.

Taking into account the strategy of Uzbekistan for the broad development of the tourism industry, Turkish experts came up with proposals to assist in the further development of the tourism infrastructure through the appropriate opportunities that TIKA can present in Uzbekistan.

The Turkish Agency for International Cooperation currently implements three projects totaling US$3.5 million in the restoration of historical and architectural monuments in Urgench and Bukhara.

Special attention was paid to the development of cultural and humanitarian cooperation. The importance of holding joint events to promote enlightened Islam, the development of interaction in the fields of culture, science, education, health and sports was noted.

Following the results of the discussions, the participants expressed their readiness to continue the dialogue on the state and development of bilateral Uzbek-Turkish cooperation at the expert level. They agreed that such an analysis will make it possible to use all the possibilities of countries and contribute to bringing to a new level the multifaceted cooperation between the two countries, which today is developing in the interests of prosperity, peace and a prosperous life of the fraternal peoples of Uzbekistan and Turkey.

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