President Shavkat Mirziyoyev participated in the regular session of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council in Minsk on June 27, in his capacity as head of the observer state to the EAEU, and delivered a speech.
The President’s press service released the full text of the address.
Esteemed Heads of Delegations!
I would like to join in expressing gratitude to the President of the Republic of Belarus, the esteemed Alexander Grigoryevich Lukashenko, for the traditionally warm welcome and high level of organization of today’s meeting.
For my part, I would also like to acknowledge the fruitful chairmanship of the Belarusian side in the Eurasian Economic Union, during which multilateral practical cooperation has noticeably intensified.
Today, my colleagues have assessed the challenging situation in the global economy. In Uzbekistan, we are fully experiencing the negative impact of increased protectionism and sanctions policies, disruptions in trade and logistics chains, and reduced investment activity by foreign partners.
I would like to emphasize that further expansion and deepening of mutually beneficial cooperation with the EAEU countries – our natural and traditional partners – is one of the priority areas of our foreign economic policy.
Taking this opportunity, I would like to express my gratitude to all my colleagues for the support and active participation of your delegations in the International Industrial Exhibition “Innoprom. Central Asia” and the fourth Tashkent Investment Forum, which took place in Uzbekistan earlier this year.
As a result of these events, important agreements were reached, and new areas and promising projects for cooperation were identified. We intend to expand these platforms, involving more leading companies and financial groups from our countries.
Distinguished Participants!
I would like to briefly inform you about the development of Uzbekistan’s multilateral cooperation with the Eurasian Economic Union.
Over the four years of interaction in the status of an observer state, Uzbekistan’s foreign trade turnover with the Union countries has increased by 80 percent, reaching 18 billion dollars last year. I am pleased to note the expansion of the range of trade operations, primarily through the supply of industrial products. The number of joint ventures and projects has tripled.
In March of this year, the fourth meeting of the joint Working Group was successfully held, resulting in agreed measures for the phased elimination of technical barriers, deepening industrial cooperation, and stimulating business initiatives.
We have started implementing a new three-year Plan, covering about 40 specific activities.
Uzbekistan is also actively participating in important EAEU initiatives, including projects and programs such as the “Eurasian Agroexpress,” the development of electronic commerce, the digitalization of cargo transportation, and the climate agenda.
In April, we completed all procedures and joined the Agreement on the Establishment of the Eurasian Development Bank. Together with the bank, a promising portfolio of infrastructure modernization projects in the fields of metallurgy, textiles, chemicals, and other strategic sectors is being developed.
Dear Colleagues!
I would like to outline our vision for the key directions of further partnership development with the EAEU.
We attach great importance to creating favorable conditions for increasing mutual trade turnover.
Uzbekistan fully implements all agreements related to ensuring the operation of the free trade zone between our countries.
We believe it is necessary to accelerate the expert study of a number of our proposals aimed at simplifying procedures and bringing together systems of technical regulation of trade operations.
We are also interested in connecting to such trade support tools and mechanisms as the digital system of technical regulation and the ecosystem of digital transport corridors of the EAEU, the Eurasian Reinsurance Company. This will significantly facilitate conditions for our businesses and ensure favorable conditions for mutual access to commodity markets.
Given the intensive development of modern information technologies and artificial intelligence, we consider multilateral cooperation in the field of digitalization to be promising.
We propose adopting a separate program covering the following areas: electronic commerce, digital labeling of goods, creation of new generation logistics platforms, and the introduction of artificial intelligence technologies in specific industries.
I would also like to note the possibility of Uzbekistan’s participation in a unified integrated information system of checkpoints. This will primarily speed up border crossings and ensure the effectiveness of monitoring and transparency of all procedures.
From a technical point of view, we are ready to actively participate in such projects.
To stimulate the development of cooperative ties, we propose expanding practical cooperation within the framework of launched programs to support small and medium-sized businesses, including joint activities with the EAEU Business Council.
We are interested in using the opportunities of the financial support mechanism for industrial projects and the platform of the Eurasian Network of Industrial Cooperation and Technology Transfer.
In the area of ensuring food security, it is important to join efforts in developing measures aimed at expanding opportunities for cooperation among agricultural producers. This primarily concerns the implementation of our initiative to adopt a Program of agro-cooperation between Uzbekistan and the EAEU countries, providing for the introduction of advanced technologies, simplification of the rules for the movement of agricultural goods, effective functioning and expansion of the “green” corridor.
With our EAEU partners, we are actively working to simplify procedures and increase the mobility of labor resources. In this regard, we propose holding expert consultations on the convergence of professional standards and qualification requirements in the most demanded industries in the labor market.
If colleagues support it, we will also connect to the integrated platform “Work without Borders,” launched within the framework of the Organization.
Distinguished Heads of Delegations!
In conclusion, I would like to once again confirm our commitment to expanding practical cooperation within the EAEU.
I am confident that Uzbekistan’s participation in these multilateral programs and projects will serve to strengthen economic partnership and promote the sustainable development of our countries in modern conditions.