Cooperation of Belarus and Uzbekistan is steadily and successfully developing. Since 2017, bilateral trade has grown fivefold, and by the end of 2021 exceeded USD 300 million (an increase of 7.8 percent compared to 2020). Maintaining a positive trend, the countries have added almost 10 percent to last year's level of mutual trade in the first months of 2022.
The economies of the two states can beneficially complement each other. Belarus supplies vehicles, chemical products, machinery, equipment, foodstuffs, medicines to Uzbekistan. In turn, such goods from Uzbekistan as fruits and vegetables, juices and wines, cotton yarn, textiles, metals are in demand in the Belarusian market.
There are successful examples of industrial cooperation. A plant for the assembly of Belarusian equipment, JV LLC AMKODOR-AGROTEXMASH, has been established in Uzbekistan with the participation of Belarusian capital (Amkodor JSC). Cooperation ties between MAZ OJSC and KRANTAS GROUP, between Minsk Tractor Works and Uzavtosanoat JSC in the field of vehicles and tractors production are developing. The Marko company is implementing a joint project for the production of footwear in Uzbekistan. Joint venture MONOLITH ASIA LLC has been established in Tashkent as part of another investment project, implemented by the Svetlogorsk Plant of Welding Electrodes. A number of joint projects in the pharmaceuticals sector are underway. In addition, there is potential for expanding cooperation in the production of agricultural, special equipment based on Belarusian technologies, because due to its geographical location, Uzbekistan can become a logistics hub for Belarus for the supply of jointly produced goods to neighboring markets.
The recent global processes have not affected cooperation success. There is a task on the bilateral agenda to find even more promising avenues, identify new points of growth and additional benefits from partnership in order to achieve the strategic goal of half a billion dollars in trade. For this goal to become a reality, bilateral contacts at all levels are important.
At the end of April, Roman Golovchenko, the Prime Minister of the Republic of Belarus, paid a two-day visit to Uzbekistan. As part of this visit, the Belarusian Chamber of Commerce and Industry organized a business mission to Tashkent, which included representatives of about 70 Belarusian companies engaged in a wide range of activities. The key events of the business visit were the Uzbekistan-Belarus business forum and the country's exposition at INNOPROM. Central Asia industrial exhibition.
The Uzbekistan-Belarus business forum took place on April 25. Alongside the BelCCI, the forum organizers were the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Republic of Uzbekistan and the Ministry of Investments and Foreign Trade of Uzbekistan. Attending the event were the BelCCI Chairman Mikhael Miatlikov, Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Uzbekistan Davron Vakhabov, First Deputy Minister of Tourism and Cultural Heritage of Uzbekistan Ulugbek Azamov, Belarus' Deputy Foreign Minister Igor Nazaruk, the Belarusian business mission members and representatives of more than 150 Uzbek enterprises and organizations.
Welcoming the participants, Mikhael Miatlikov noted that the business forum is an important platform for business communication, because it provides an opportunity to exchange experience and shows the prospects for mutually beneficial cooperation, as well as the possible ways to achieve the strategic tasks of partnership.
"The economies of Belarus and Uzbekistan are complementary. We produce the goods that are in demand in Uzbekistan. On the Belarusian market, there is a need for many items produced in Uzbekistan. The experience and skills of Belarus would obviously be beneficial in the industrial and agricultural revolution that is taking place in Uzbekistan," the Chairman of the BelCCI said. In addition, he stressed that Belarus is ready to share knowledge and technologies for the development of modern IT products, the introduction of digital payments, the production of medicines.
Speaking of the inter-chamber cooperation, Mikhael Miatlikov said that the Belarusian Chamber of Commerce and Industry maintains close ties with the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Republic of Uzbekistan and attaches great importance to the development of contacts between the business circles of the two countries. Congress events, exhibitions and expositions are held regularly, enabling the establishment of contacts and opening up new horizons for businesses.
The forum participants discussed promising areas for the development of Belarusian-Uzbek trade and economic cooperation in mechanical engineering, agriculture, pharmaceuticals sector, and other fields. Presentations were made of the opportunities provided to foreign companies within the framework of preferential regimes in Belarus, as well as the benefits of using modern digital payment systems developed in Belarus.
Following the plenary part of the forum, business representatives of Belarus and Uzbekistan continued their work in the B2B format, discussed specific projects of mutually beneficial partnership.
The final point of the forum was a document signing ceremony. The heads of Belarusian and Uzbek enterprises and organizations signed eight bilateral contracts on cooperation and product supplies.
In addition, as part of the visit to Tashkent, the Belarusian business delegation members visited INNOPROM. Central Asia international exhibition, took part in the business program.
At the exhibition, a special place belonged to the National Exposition of Belarus, showcasing the products of 18 large industrial enterprises, concerns and scientific organizations. It was organized by the Belinterexpo Exhibition Company of the Belarusian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
The Belarusian exposition had several sections. Thus, innovations in the field of mechanical engineering were presented by BELAZ, BELAVTOMAZ Holding, BKM Holding, Minsk Tractor Works, Amkodor, Gomselmash and Bobruiskagromash enterprises. BATE, Krasny Borets, StankoGomel enterprises, the S.M. Kirov Machine-Tool Plant, Byelorussian Steel Works, Crane Plant, Minsk Motor Plant demonstrated their high-quality equipment, materials and components for the machine-building complex.
The joint booth of the State Committee for Science and Technology included more than 130 R&D results of the organizations of the Ministry of Education and the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, including a line of unmanned aerial vehicles, anti-cancer drugs, an overhead mobile crane, high-tech medical products, insulating resource-saving materials, and others. "NPO Center" enterprise presented technological lines for mineral raw materials processing and enrichment.
All products of Belarusian enterprises aroused considerable interest among Uzbek partners and foreign guests of the exhibition.
The active participation of the Uzbek side in the events within the framework of the Belarusian business delegation visit to Tashkent testifies to the fact that bilateral cooperation has great potential, and a turnover of 500 million is a doable goal to be achieved. After all, during the visit alone, 27 documents worth more than 25 million US dollars were added to the bilateral trade portfolio.
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