Uzbekistan, Turkey launch new format of dialogue

On February 19, Ankara hosted the first meeting of Uzbekistan – Turkey Strategic Cooperation Council of the highest level.

The Council is a dialogue format new to the history of bilateral relations. It was established in accordance with the Joint Statement of the Heads of State in 2018.

The body operates under the co-chairmanship of the Presidents of Uzbekistan and Turkey. It defines a joint strategy for development of cooperation in politics, security and defense, economy and trade, investments, tourism, energy, transport and transit, agriculture and forestry, culture, education, science and technology, innovation, healthcare, as well as in other areas of mutual interest.

The President of the Republic of Turkey greeted the President of Uzbekistan and expressed satisfaction with the enhancing interaction between the parliaments, government agencies and business circles of the two countries. Recep Tayyip Erdogan noted his full-fledged support for joint projects of Turkey and Uzbekistan.

President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev thanked the leader and the people of Turkey for the hospitality and warm respect demonstrated towards the delegation of Uzbekistan.

“This meeting is a bright embodiment of the current high level strategic partnership between our two countries. Surely, the Council will serve as an important backbone for the implementation of priority tasks to bring the trade turnover between our countries to five billion dollars in the coming years. It’s advisable for us to consolidate the results of this meeting and now decide on the agenda for the upcoming meeting next year and the key areas of our cooperation”, the President of Uzbekistan noted.

Uzbekistan – Turkey cooperation has intensified significantly over the past three years. Shavkat Mirziyoyev’s state visit to Turkey in October 2017 and Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s to Uzbekistan in April 2018 strengthened mutual political trust and opened up great opportunities for a fruitful partnership.

The effect of intensive contacts and shared aspirations has found reflection in economic cooperation. Thus, the trade turnover exceeded 2.5 billion dollars in 2019 in contrast to the nearly 1.2 billion USD in 2016. In Uzbekistan, there are more than 1.3 thousand enterprises with participation of Turkish investments. Investment projects worth 500 million USD are being implemented.

Interaction has been expanding in the transport sector. For instance, in 2019, the volume of motor road transportation grew by 33 percent, by rail – 17 percent, by air – 42 percent.

In addition, 64 thousand Turkish tourists visited Uzbekistan last year.

It was noted that thanks to the support from the leaders of the two countries and the favorable conditions created, the scale of cooperation could expand even further.

At the meeting, the ministers of trade of Uzbekistan and Turkey presented detailed information on the current state of bilateral cooperation.

A wide range of issues of interstate cooperation, ways to solve them and key tasks for the future was considered during the negotiations. The parties agreed on realization of joint projects.

Shavkat Mirziyoyev invited Recep Tayyip Erdogan to Uzbekistan to the next meeting of the Strategic Cooperation Council.

UzA