BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 29
By Ilkin Seyfaddini - Trend:
The modernization of the Uzbekistani industry and agriculture represents promising opportunities for Czech companies, Head of Press Department and Spokeswoman for Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Czech Republic Stepanka Filipova told Trend.
"Uzbekistan has changed a lot in the last few years. With the coming of President Mirziyoyev to power in 2016, major reform initiatives were launched in Uzbekistan. We welcome the ongoing process of economic and structural reforms and hope they will have a positive impact on our mutual trade and Investment projects," she said.
Czechia is ready to help further the development of trade cooperation with Uzbekistan through political support and pro-export financing via the Czech Export Bank and the Export Guarantee and Insurance Company, in the context of the ongoing transformation reforms in the country, Filipova added.
"Czechia welcomes the upgrade of the Uzbekistan's risk rating by Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) from point 6 to point 5. This shift reflects ongoing reform efforts," she stated.
Filipova stressed that high-level contacts between Czechia and Uzbekistan have been reestablished under the new president of Uzbekistan.
In November 2018, a delegation of the Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament of the Czechia led by Deputy-Speaker Vojtech Filip visited Uzbekistan. In April 2019, Czech Minister of Industry and Trade Marta Novakova visited the country. Both state officials were accompanied by numerous representatives of the Czech business.
"In the fall of the same year, we renewed the work of our intergovernmental commission on economic cooperation as a basic tool of our mutual economic dialog. A strong interest in more intensive relations with Uzbekistan, higher trade volumes and investment was declared during online meeting with Uzbek Deputy Prime Minister Sardor Umurzakov on 5 May 2020," said the spokeswoman.
Filipova said that in September 2019, the work of the Czech-Uzbekistani intergovernmental commission for economic cooperation resumed after six years and the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Czech Republic supports its regular activities.
"After easing the restrictions caused by the COVID-19 disease, we are ready to send a delegation led by the Deputy Minister to Tashkent. We are also planning business missions focused on specific industrial sectors," she pointed out.
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