President of Uzbekistan Reaffirms Commitment to Deepening Cooperation with Eurasian Economic Union

Tashkent/ Uzbekistan: 10 Dec 2021 –  President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev took part in a meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council in the format of a videoconference.The President reaffirmed Uzbekistan’s firm commitment to deepening mutually beneficial cooperation with the countries of the Eurasian Economic Union.

The summit, chaired by President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, was also attended by Honorary Chairman of the Council, First President of the Republic of Kazakhstan – Elbasy Nursultan Nazarbayev, President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin, President of the Republic of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko, President of the Kyrgyz Republic Sadyr Zhaparov, Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan, President of the Republic of Cuba – observer country at the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) Miguel Bermudez and Chairman of the Board of the Eurasian Economic Commission Mikhail Myasnikovich.

The agenda of the meeting included issues of further development of mutually beneficial cooperation and deepening of integration processes in the EAEU space, including practical cooperation in the field of economy, trade, industry, transport, customs administration, digitalization and other areas.

At the beginning of his speech, the President of Uzbekistan highlighted the successful chairmanship of Kazakhstan in the EAEU and the important decisions taken on his initiative within the framework of the Association, as well as the support provided for joint activities aimed at deepening constructive interaction between our country and this Organization.

It was noted that during the year of Uzbekistan’s participation in the EAEU in the status of an observer state, effective work has been established with various bodies of the Association, primarily the Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC) within the framework of implementing the provisions of the three-year Action Plan.

Uzbekistan is bringing national legislation  consistently closer to the norms of the EAEU, primarily in the field of standardization and measures of non-tariff regulation of foreign trade. Uzbekistan has joined the digital platform “Traveling without COVID”. The process of joining the Eurasian Development Bank has begun.

It was emphasized that despite the challenges of modernity, it is possible to adapt to difficult conditions and find new “points of growth”. Thus, Uzbekistan’s trade turnover with the Organization’s countries has increased by 30 percent since the beginning of this year. At the same time, compared to 2019, trade increased by 11 percent.

The President of Uzbekistan outlined the most urgent tasks that require joint solutions.

Noting the need for further coordination of approaches to ensure the sustainable development of economic ties, the leader of Uzbekistan pointed out the importance of removing barriers and restrictions in mutual trade. In this regard, the readiness to jointly develop approaches and mechanisms to create the most favorable conditions for increasing trade turnover with the EAEU countries was expressed.

The President, once again emphasizing the urgency of deepening industrial cooperation, proposed to establish this interaction on a systematic basis, including by participating in the creation of an online Map of industrialization within the Organization.

The leader of Uzbekistan called for more active promotion of projects aimed at creating new transport corridors, which will contribute to increasing the transit potential of our countries.

The possibility of Uzbekistan joining the program of introduction of navigation seals for cargo tracking was noted. The initiative to create a Digital ecosystem for the development of the EAEU logistics chains was supported.

The attention of the participants was drawn to the need to combine efforts in the implementation of green energy projects taking into account the global climate agenda. In this regard, the head of  state announced Uzbekistan’s readiness to participate in the activities of the High-level Working Group and proposed to approve an action plan in the field of “green” development within its framework.

The importance of the exchange of experience and the development of business partnership in the IT sphere was emphasized, in connection with which it was proposed to hold the next Eurasian Digital Forum in Uzbekistan.

The need for more active involvement of observer states in the implementation of relevant initiatives and cooperation programs in the Eurasian space, as well as stimulating scientific, technical and humanitarian exchange was noted. To this end, the leader of  state advocated the use of the capabilities of the EAEU Development Center, as well as the participation of observer countries in the work of the Council and the EEC bodies.