Before the state visit of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev to the Republic of Türkiye, the Uzbekistan – Türkiye Business Forum was held in Ankara with the participation of more than 500 representatives of the business circles of the two countries.

The event was attended by Vice President of the Republic of Türkiye Cevdet Yılmaz, Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Uzbekistan – Minister of Economy and Finance Jamshid Kuchkarov, Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Uzbekistan Davron Vakhobov, President of the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Türkiye Mustafa Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu.

Panel sessions were organized on “Public-private partnership: new prospects for Uzbekistan – Türkiye cooperation”, “Uzbekistan – Türkiye interregional cooperation”, “Privatization – a new stage of economic reforms and business opportunities”, “Implementation of joint investment projects in industry and water management”.

Speaking at the forum, Vice President of the Republic of Türkiye Cevdet Yılmaz noted that President Shavkat Mirziyoyev is an influential reformer leader. On the one hand, he seeks to institutionalize a free market economy in Uzbekistan; on the other hand, he promotes the country worldwide.

In 2017-2023, the number of business entities in Uzbekistan doing business with Türkiye doubled to almost 5,200. These companies operate in energy, construction, textiles, tourism, pharmaceuticals, healthcare, agriculture, and the production of construction materials.

“The reforms are yielding results. I believe these measures and efforts will bring even more benefits to the country and people in the coming years”, Cevdet Yılmaz said. “I would also like to say that reforms are like riding a bicycle. The pedal must be turned continuously. By participating in this forum, I had the opportunity to see once again the transformations taking place in Uzbekistan”.

The event agenda included negotiations and presentations, with the participation of heads of Turkish companies, aimed at implementing new projects in several areas, such as trade and industry, healthcare, and tourism.

As part of the forum, agreements were reached to enhance further mutually beneficial cooperation between the economic and business spheres of the two countries. In particular, several documents were signed on creating industrial clusters, energy support, constructing power plants, establishing textile and leather and footwear production, and constructing roads, schools, and preschool education institutions based on PPP.

In particular, within the framework of the Uzbekistan – Türkiye Business Forum, cooperation was established between the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Uzbekistan, the National Bank for Foreign Economic Activity of Uzbekistan, and the Istanbul Chamber of Jewelry.

Bekhruz Khudoyberdiyev, UzA