On April 13, the Development Strategy Center together with the Ankara Center for Crisis and Policy Studies (ANKASAM) organized an international roundtable discussion on the results of the official visit of the President of the Republic of Turkey to Uzbekistan and a new stage of multifaceted relations.

The event was attended by representatives of the Development Strategy Center, the Institute for Strategic and Regional Studies under the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan, the Center for Economic Research and Reforms, the Information and Analytical Center for International Relations under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the International Institute for Central Asia, the Institute of Forecasting and Macroeconomic Research, experts of ANKASAM, Marmara Group Strategic and Social Research Foundation, Sahipkiran Center for Strategic Research and other research centers.

The participants of the event discussed the main results achieved following the meetings of the heads of state held on March 29-30 this year and the second meeting of the Strategic Cooperation Council between Uzbekistan and Turkey, as well as the current state and prospects for cooperation in political, diplomatic, trade, economic, cultural and humanitarian spheres.

Executive Director of the Development Strategy Center Eldor Tulyakov noted that in recent years, the strategic partnership between Uzbekistan and Turkey has significantly intensified.

“Collaboration between Uzbekistan and Turkey has a long history”, E. Tulyakov said. – Our countries and peoples are bound by close ties of friendship and brotherhood based on the unity of language and history, culture and traditions. Turkey, as one of the first states that recognized the independence of Uzbekistan, has a special place in the history of the independent development of our country. This year marks 30 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries and 5 years since the founding of the strategic partnership relations.

The participants of the event noted that the volume of exports and imports between the two countries is almost equal. In 2021, Turkey supplied our country with products worth $1 billion 698 million, and Uzbekistan exported products worth $1 billion 690 million to Turkey.

The volume of Turkish investments in Uzbekistan increased 70 times. In 2021, Turkey entered the top three countries in terms of investment in the economy of Uzbekistan, and in 2021 alone invested $1.18 billion.

According to the State Statistics Committee, as of April 1, 2022, 1,961 Turkish companies are operating in Uzbekistan. This figure is in third place after Russia (2390 companies) and China (1967 companies).

Following the roundtable discussion, the parties discussed issues of cooperation within the framework of an agreement on preferential trade reached between the heads of the two states, a protocol for the exchange of preliminary information on the movement of goods and vehicles across the state border, memorandums of understanding reached in labor and employment, forensics, construction, as well as agreed to actively continue cooperation within the framework of leading think tanks and international institutions.

UzA