MINSK, 7 September (BelTA) – Belarus and Uzbekistan have laid some impressive groundwork for further cooperation, Belarusian Economy Minister Aleksandr Chervyakov said at the plenary session of the First Belarus-Uzbekistan Women’s Business Forum “Women Entrepreneurs – Potential for Development of Business Cooperation between Belarus and Uzbekistan” in Minsk on 6 September, BelTA has learned.
“Uzbekistan ranks fourth in the world in gold reserves. It is the largest producer of copper in the region, has reserves of coal, oil, natural gas, and is a leader in growing cotton, vegetables, and fruits. The production of value-added products from such diverse raw materials requires machinery, modern technologies, and skilled specialists. Belarus has competencies and potential in many areas and is ready for active cooperation. Our mining equipment is already operating at Uzbekistan’s deposits. We see that a notable potential is concentrated in the production and supply of tractors. We are ready to consider the production of Belarusian tractors in Uzbekistan with localization of component parts,” Aleksandr Chervyakov said. “Meat and dairy products have a high potential for further increase in exports. There is a potential for growth, and this is confirmed, among other things, by the results of 2022, where our mutual trade in agro-industrial products increased 1.5 times.”
According to him, supplies of woodworking products remain promising. “The supplies of tires, paint and varnish materials have a significant potential as well, and exports of household appliances can grow significantly. Another promising area is cooperation in the light industry. Uzbekistan has a huge raw material base for the development of these industries, and we have necessary technologies in the sector. Uzbekistan’s imports of medicines account for about $1.5 billion. Belarus is ready to supply its pharmaceutical products, and to offer the healthcare authorities of the two countries to work out the possibility of setting production facilities in Uzbekistan for bulk medicines, antibiotics, anticancer drugs and so on,” the minister emphasized.
“We should work on sending our products through Uzbekistan to Afghanistan, India and Pakistan. The important thing here is to create conditions for increasing cargo flows. This will necessitate efforts to solve issues related to the transition to a permit-free system of road freight transportation. Another promising area is air transport – providing air flights with Belavia at major airports will expand opportunities for business cooperation, as well as travel options from Belarus to Central Asia, the Middle East and the Far East,” Aleksandr Chervyakov added. “We are interested in cooperation with Uzbekistan in culture and tourism. We are ready to build tourist routes together in new directions.”
“The groundwork for further cooperation is impressive. We need to find areas of common interests in the economy, politics and social sector. These areas have already been identified, they only need to be further developed,” the minister stated. “I hope that this forum will become a platform for sharing experience and establishing useful contacts, as well as create additional conditions for attracting investment resources to promising projects, which will also be developed at this forum.”
A parliamentary delegation of Uzbekistan led by Chairwoman of the Senate of the Oliy Majlis Tanzila Narbayeva is paying an official visit to Belarus at the invitation of the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly of Belarus. The first Belarus-Uzbekistan women’s business forum was organized as part of the visit. On 5 September the forum featured six breakout sessions. The key event of the business forum – the plenary session Women Entrepreneurs – Potential for Development of Business Cooperation between Belarus and Uzbekistan – took place on 6 September. The forum was organized by the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus.
Source: BELTA