Capitals of Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan, Tashkent, and Baku, on February 16, held a virtual conference on bilateral trade and economic ties in the light of the forthcoming interregional forum set to be held on February 23-24, Dunyo reported on Thursday (February 16).
The event discussed the visit of Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev to Uzbekistan in 2022, large-scale agreements inked by the two countries, and the development of new areas of bilateral cooperation, including energy, transport, textile, food processing spheres, etc. In particular, experts from Azerbaijan shared their assessments on prospects of ties in areas of mutual interest.
Orkhan Yelchuev, Director of ‘STEM Azerbaijan’ noted that historically close amicable ties between the two countries entered a qualitatively new stage of their development under Shavkat Mirziyoyev and Ilham Aliyev and have vast untapped potential.
This is facilitated by Uzbekistan's significantly increased international authority in recent years, mainly due to the country’s new foreign policy course. ‘The policy of openness in foreign relations turns this Central Asian country into an important player in the region. Today, the republic is experiencing its third renaissance,’ Orkhan Yelchuev emphasized.
The Azerbaijani political scientist noted the growing interest of foreign countries in Uzbekistan in light of the ongoing reforms in the country. According to the expert, Azerbaijani large and small businesses are also showing their interest, so if, at the beginning of 2022, there were 178 companies with Azerbaijani participation in Uzbekistan, now their number has increased to 266.
Orkhan Yelchuev believes that amid the energy crisis in the world and the shortage of chemical and food raw materials, the issue of using transport and logistics routes, in particular, the Middle Corridor, where Uzbekistan plays one of the leading roles, is especially relevant. ‘This opens up great opportunities for our countries,’ the expert said.
He noted the dynamic development of trade and economic relations in this regard. Over the past year alone, thanks to joint efforts, the parties increased trade by 53%.
Continuing the discussion, Ilgar Velizadeh, head of the political scientists’ club ‘South Caucasus,’ highlighted several promising areas of bilateral cooperation.
Noting the success of Uzbekistan in cotton breeding, the Azerbaijani expert stressed Azerbaijan’s interest in using the Uzbek experience in growing new varieties of cotton. There was also an increased interest in Uzbek silk, the export of which is now being established to Azerbaijan.
In turn, a leading researcher at the Azerbaijan Institute of Economics, Ph.D. in Economics Emin Mammadzade, singled out Uzbekistan’s assistance helping in constructing a secondary school in the city of Fizuli.
At the same time, the participants of the virtual conference focused on the importance of maintaining and further promoting expert dialogue. In their opinion, the joint work of analytical structures can contribute to the practical implementation of the initiatives put forward by the leaders of the two countries.
The experts expressed confidence that the upcoming interregional forum between Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan would give an additional impetus to the expansion of cooperation ties and contribute to the creation of new joint ideas for the development of interaction based on the wide use of unused reserves and opportunities.
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