On January 30, the Institute for Strategic and Regional Studies under the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan, together with the Belarusian Institute for Strategic Studies, organized a roundtable discussion on “Cooperation between Uzbekistan and Belarus – New Horizons and Prospects”.

The event brought together a solid composition of participants from the heads of diplomatic missions in Uzbekistan and Belarus, leadership, and representatives of the two countries’ expert, analytical, and scientific-academic circles.

Addressing the event, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Belarus to Uzbekistan, Leonid Marinich, highly appreciated the pace of development of cooperation between Uzbekistan and Belarus.

Ambassador Leonid Marinich noted with satisfaction that Tashkent and Minsk support an open, equal bilateral dialogue on all issues, and the two countries’ legal framework includes more than 70 documents.

The diplomat emphasized that bilateral cooperation in key areas has begun to develop most intensively in the last six years.

According to him, such increased cooperation is primarily due to the establishment of warm, trusting relations between the leaders of Uzbekistan and Belarus. The meeting of heads of state at the SCO Summit in September 2022, official and informal contacts at the highest level over the past year confirmed mutual interest and focused on further enhancing the partnership between Belarus and Uzbekistan.

Thanks to joint efforts, in 2023, trade turnover between Uzbekistan and Belarus increased by 11.5% and amounted to more than $600 million. According to the Ambassador, this is far from the limit, considering that the economies of the two states practically do not compete and can significantly complement each other.

The Ambassador identified the agro-industrial sector, mechanical engineering, food, pharmaceutical, and light industries as the highest priority areas for the development of cooperation.

At the same time, it was indicated that the countries have already taken several joint measures to deepen connectivity in trade and economic fields.

First, according to the diplomat, there is a progressive expansion of cooperation. For these purposes, joint Uzbekistan – Belarus sites have been created and are successfully operating for the assembly of equipment, the production of dairy products, antibiotics and medicines, footwear, and sewing textiles.

Second, as Ambassador Leonid Marinich emphasized, new formats of business dialogue have been introduced. These include the Belarus – Uzbekistan Agrarian Forum, the Business Council, the Forum of Regions, and the Belarus – Uzbekistan Women’s Forum, which help to increase the efficiency of realizing the potential of mutually beneficial bilateral cooperation.

Third, the diplomat noted that the development of interregional ties is actively supported. Belarusian regions are interested in participating in Uzbekistan’s regional development programs, and existing free economic zones in the two countries could become productive platforms for the active start and development of joint projects.

In this regard, the opinion was expressed that the Second Forum of Regions, scheduled for February 6-7 this year, will give additional impetus to developing interregional cooperation between Belarus and Uzbekistan, filling it with significant projects.

“We see reserves for further growth of mutual trade and intensification of trade and economic cooperation between our countries”, the Ambassador stated.

Ambassador Leonid Marinich also noted that enhancing trade and economic partnership between Uzbekistan and Belarus “goes hand in hand” with the expansion of humanitarian exchanges. This applies to education, science, healthcare, and tourism.

According to him, in addition to intensive bilateral partnership, Uzbekistan and Belarus carry out constructive interaction on international platforms. A striking example in this context is the support of Uzbekistan in Belarus’s desire to obtain the status of a permanent member of the SCO.

“Today, Uzbekistan is a key strategic partner for Belarus in Central Asia”, concluded the Ambassador.

UzA