BAKU: Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan have agreed to establish a joint working group aimed at eliminating barriers hindering bilateral trade.
The Uzbekistan Ministry of Investment’s press service said that the department head, Laziz Kudratov, and Kazakhstan’s Minister of Trade and Integration, Arman Shakkaliyev, discussed projects implementations outlined in the roadmap signed by the two countries’ presidents a year ago.
The bilateral trade volume has witnessed a remarkable surge over the past seven years, soaring from $1.9 billion in 2016 to $4.6 billion in 2023. Both countries were optimistic about further elevating the trade turnover to $10 billion in the coming years.
As part of this collaboration, UzKazTrade, established as a joint foreign trade company, will create an online trading platform to facilitate the sale of a diverse range of goods in both countries’ markets.
Moreover, they agreed to expedite the establishment of an international center for industrial cooperation called “Central Asia.” The center will focus on producing import-substituting products, utilizing the production base in the border areas of Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan.
Last year, UzKazTrade, a joint venture, was formed to supply fruits and vegetables from Uzbekistan and flour from Kazakhstan. It was later revealed that UzKazTrade intends to wholesale fruits and vegetables from Uzbekistan to Kazakhstan without a commercial markup.
