ASTANA – Deputy Prime Ministers of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan Serik Zhumangarin and Jamshid Khodjaev agreed to implement 34 investment projects worth $4.4 billion and seven trade contracts worth $2.6 billion during the bilateral talks held on the sidelines of the Kazakh-Uzbek business forum on Aug. 7.
Photo credit: Prime Minister’s press service
According to the Prime Minister’s press service, the sides plan to implement investment projects in energy, mining and geology, transport, chemical industry, construction, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, and pharmaceuticals. Agriculture is the sector with the most projects. The parties agreed on joint cultivation of agricultural products, deep processing of grain and rice in Kazakhstan, and production of silk products in the Turkistan Region.
Business leaders from both countries also signed documents worth $43.5 million at the event, which drew more than 400 attendees.
According to Zhumangarin, Uzbekistan is one of Kazakhstan’s main commercial partners, ranked seventh in 2023. Uzbekistan accounts for more than 57% of Kazakhstan’s total trade turnover with Central Asian nations.
“Bilateral trade has increased by 29% during the last five years, reaching $5 billion in 2022. We need structural solutions to trade challenges and the search for new growth areas in trade turnover to accomplish the target set by the both Presidents – to reach the $10 billion mark in the medium term,” he said.
Khodjaev noted that such events serve as a powerful impetus for strengthening bilateral cooperation. He emphasized that Kazakhstan is one of Uzbekistan’s main economic partners.
“The world community views our region through the prism of a single market. I suggest joining our efforts to effectively attract major global brands,” he said.
Kazakh Deputy Foreign Minister Alibek Kuantyrov said during his speech at the Kazakhstan-Uzbekistan Business Council meeting in Astana on Aug. 7 that bilateral industrial cooperation currently includes 60 projects worth $2.6 billion, of which 55 are in Kazakhstan, and five are in Uzbekistan.
“Eleven joint projects worth $144 million have been completed, and three joint projects worth $181 million are now being implemented,” said Kuantyrov.
In 2023, trade turnover between the countries reached US$4.4 billion.
