TASHKENT, Uzbekistan, November 27. Uzbekistan and the European Union discussed the development of trade, economic, and investment cooperation as part of the implementation of agreements reached during the visit to Brussels in October this year, Trend reports via the press service of the President of Uzbekistan.
The matters were addressed during a meeting between President Shavkat Mirziyoyev and a European Union delegation, headed by European Commissioner for International Partnerships, Jozef Sikela, and European Commissioner for Enlargement, Marta Kos, who are currently visiting Uzbekistan for official discussions.
Meanwhile, it was noted that this year, Uzbekistan and the EU signed the Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (EPCA), held summits in Samarkand and Brussels, and completed negotiations with the EU on Uzbekistan’s accession to the WTO.
Since the beginning of the year, mutual trade has increased by almost 7 percent. The parties emphasized that the practical implementation of the EPCA will help significantly expand trade volumes and increase investment inflows.
The importance of strengthening institutional mechanisms was underscored to broaden and diversify the range of traded goods, launch new joint industrial cooperation projects, and advance collaboration in transport, digitalization, critical minerals, energy, healthcare, and other priority areas.
Meanwhile, bilateral trade between Uzbekistan and the European Union has quadrupled over the past seven years, reaching 54 billion euros.