27.05.2024

On May 27, the first meeting of the Council of Regions of Uzbekistan and Russia was held in Tashkent under the chairmanship of President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev and the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin.

It should be noted that this platform, launched by the leaders of the two states 6 years ago, operated in the format of a joint Forum of Interregional Cooperation.

Considering the fastest rates of development of interregional interaction, high dynamics of mutual investment growth, number of joint projects, as well as the great potential for expanding areas of cooperation, it was decided to raise the status of the forum and transform it into the Council of Regions of Uzbekistan and Russia under the chairmanship of the Presidents.

At the opening of the Council meeting, our Head of State warmly welcomed President Vladimir Putin and the representatives of the Russian delegation, including the heads of some 30 regions and 300 representatives of leading industrial enterprises and businesses.

- Such cooperation is characterized by high efficiency and contributes to the development of long-term partnership between Uzbekistan and Russia,” - emphasized the President of our country.

The sides satisfactorily noted that the fruitful results of today's high-level talks, which demonstrated the common spirit and aspiration to expand and strengthen the full-fledged partnership in the interests of the two countries and peoples.

They underlined the activation of contacts at all levels since the beginning of the year, including between the regions of the two countries. Only last week, delegations from Uzbekistan regions visited their partner regions in Russia.

In this context, special importance is attached to the further development of interregional dialogue and filling it with new practical content.

Currently, over 200 joint projects worth US$4 billion are being implemented at the regional level. A new package of agreements worth more than US$5 billion has been prepared as part of the Council.

It was noted with appreciation that during the negotiations had set new ambitious targets at the highest level to increase trade turnover up to US$30 billion in the coming years and investment development up to US$10 billion as early as next year.

Noting that the regions of the two countries will be the main drivers in achieving the goals, the Head of our State outlined a number of priorities for cooperation.

First and foremost, it is an increase in mutual trade. Over the last 7 years alone, Uzbekistan's trade turnover with Russia has grown 2,5 times. The structure of mutual supplies has improved qualitatively, primarily due to products with high added value.

The main partners include the cities of Moscow and St. Petersburg, Tatarstan, Leningrad, Novosibirsk, Astrakhan, Ivanovo, the Chelyabinsk region, Krasnoyarsk, the Perm Krai, Bashkortostan and many others.

Action plans have been adopted to increase trade turnover by increasing cooperation projects and import substitution, primarily with the active involvement of the regions in this process.

A full-fledged trade mission of Uzbekistan will be opened in Russia to support trade and cooperation projects.

The dynamics of investment and technological cooperation is highly appreciated. More than 3 thousand Russian companies are successfully operating in Uzbekistan.

Projects are being implemented in the fields of energy, chemical and petrochemiсal, machine-building, agricultural, logistics, textile, food processing and other industries. The «Khimgrad» industrial zone in Tashkent region, launched with partners from Tatarstan, is being expanded with a branch in Jizzakh region.

- The total portfolio of joint projects already exceeds US$45 billion. Within the framework of this summit, agreements were reached on new cooperation projects worth another US$20 billion, a quarter of which is accounted for by the regions,” - said the Head of our state.

Plans to create new joint industrial zones to promote cooperation projects with the leading enterprises of Russia’s regions were supported.

Improving cooperation in agriculture was identified as a priority. The importance of further developing the network of agro-logistics centres in the regions of Uzbekistan was noted.

The regions were tasked with the development of wholesale distribution centers in Russia and the joint cultivation of crops with further deliveries to our country.

The Head of State stressed the importance of developing instruments to support and finance regional projects and announced the creation of a joint investment platform.

A particular attention has been paid to the expansion of cultural and humanitarian exchanges. 14 branches of leading Russian universities have been established in Uzbekistan, including Moscow and St. Petersburg State Universities in Tashkent, MISIS University of Science and Technology in Almalyk, Kazan Federal University in Jizzakh and many others.

During the visit, the agreements to establish branches of the Bauman Moscow State Technical University and the All-Russian Academy of Foreign Trade in our country were reached. A three-year Cultural Cooperation Program was adopted.

The President of Uzbekistan emphasized the importance of expanding tourist exchanges. In recent years alone, the number of Russian tourists has increased fivefold. All major cities of Uzbekistan and Russia are connected by regular flights.

The Leader of our country committed to adopting the new joint programs on development of tourist routes and trips to historical cities of Uzbekistan and Russia.

In his turn, the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin, praising the positive trends in the development of multifaceted relations with our country, stressed the importance of strengthening the existing business contacts, including those between the regions of Russia and Uzbekistan. He urged the representatives of business circles to participate more actively in the implementation of joint projects and initiatives.

A number of new large-scale investment projects were announced during the meeting.

In general, a solid package of interregional cooperation documents and agreements on the development of trade, economic, scientific, technical and humanitarian spheres was signed in the margins of the Council on the development of cooperation in was signed.