BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 18. The UK’s total trade with Uzbekistan sits at 267 million pounds, in 2022 and over the first quarter of 2023 combined, British Ambassador to Uzbekistan Timothy Smart told Trend.
"There is huge potential, and the desire from both countries, to grow this rapidly. Our aim is to double bilateral trade over the next couple of years and to achieve at least 1 billion pounds by 2030," he noted.
According to the ambassador, there are numerous sectors with high potential for growth, including clean energy, transport, healthcare, education, e-commerce, mining, and financial and professional services.
"Uzbekistan has a young and dynamic population and lies in one of the fastest growing regions in the world, offering clear and tangible opportunities for UK businesses. Moreover, Uzbekistan was one of the first beneficiaries of the UK’s Enhanced Preference Developing Countries Trading Scheme (DCTS), which means that at least 92 percent of all products manufactured in Uzbekistan are duty free. It also offers much simpler rules of origin requirements for exporting to the UK," he explained.
As Ambassador Smart pointed out, the DCTS is the most generous unilateral preferential trade agreement globally.
"It continues to reduce tariffs and simplify rules for developing countries, as well as providing a trade bridge to the UK retail market worth over 441 billion. We are confident that this will boost our bilateral trade," the ambassador added.
Meanwhile, with the total trade amounting to 267 million pounds in the reporting period, UK exports to Uzbekistan accounted for 137 million pounds, while UK imports from Uzbekistan totaled 130 million pounds.