(MENAFN- AzerNews)
Qabil Ashirov read more Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan intend to increase trade turnover by
5.5 times and reach $1bn in the near future. On this, Azerbaijani
and Uzbek delegations agreed the 12th meeting of the
Azerbaijan-Uzbekistan Joint Intergovernmental Commission which
kicked off in the city of Shusha.
Uzbek Ministry of Investment, Industry, and Trade noted that in
2022 alone, the volume of trade between the two countries will
increase by 1.5 times, and since the beginning of this year, this
indicator has increased by 16%. The Uzbek ministry emphasized that
the volume of delivery of textile products to Azerbaijan increased
by 2.6 times, the delivery of mechanical equipment by 19.7 percent,
and the delivery of glass and glass products by 76 percent.
It should be mentioned that Azerbaijan was keen to develop
business relations with the West after it got independence and with
a determined foreign economic policy Azerbaijan formed a good
business cooperation with the Western countries.
Today, over 80 percent of Azerbaijan's export is diverted to the
West. However, after 2020 Azerbaijan started to develop its
relations with Central Asian countries. Trade turnover between
Azerbaijan and Central Asian countries has increased by several
times over three years. It is worth noting that the relations with
Uzbekistan stand forward among these countries. There are several
sectors, that Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan agreed to cooperate.
Processing of Uzbek dried fruits in Alat Free Economic Zone, and
jointly assembling vehicles are some of them.
It is clear from the information provided by the Ministry of
Uzbekistan that the two countries intend to further develop these
economic relations. But how far can the economic relations between
the two countries develop?
Speaking to Azernews, the economist Eyyub Karimli underlined
that generally, Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan have political, cultural,
and economic relations, and the history of these relations goes
back to ancient times.
"Obviously, Uzbekistan is located on the Silk Road. Even before
the USSR, Azerbaijan-Uzbekistan relations always developed and the
relations were a way better during the USSR and it is now. These
relations stemmed from the fact that both of these countries come
from the same lineage, and also belong to the same religion," the
expert said.
He emphasized that last year the trade turnover between the two
countries amounted to $183m, of which Azerbaijan exported products
and services costing $46.5m to Uzbekistan and imported $137m.
However, Karimli thinks that this amount is not sufficient.
"Of course, there are enough opportunities to increase this
amount. Today, within the framework of the Organization of Turkic
States, Azerbaijan is further developing relations with Uzbekistan
on the basis of bilateral economic relations between the two
countries. Currently, there are great opportunities for this. As is
known, Azerbaijan is strengthening its economic and political
influence among Central Asian states. The industrial potential in
Uzbekistan is already developing. Today, household appliances,
cars, and agricultural products are imported to Azerbaijan from
Uzbekistan," Eyyub Karimli said.
He also touched on the Middle Corridor and its benefits to the
two countries. The Economist believes that in the near future, the
logistics opportunities developing along the East-West direction of
the Middle Corridor will create great opportunities for Uzbek
entrepreneurs to access the European markets, and other countries
on this route. Eyyub Karimli ensured that both the economy of
Azerbaijan and the economy of Uzbekistan will gain from this
process, and the possibilities of activity of Uzbek entrepreneurs
will expand.
As for further development between these countries, of course, I
think that in the near future, we will observe the rise of
Uzbekistan-Azerbaijan relations to a high level. As I mentioned
earlier, there is an economic basis for this. Today, Uzbekistan is
a leading cotton-growing country, and in the future, wide
opportunities for cooperation in this field can be obtained.
In addition, Uzbekistan has gas opportunities, and it is
possible that we will mediate in the transfer of this gas to Europe
in the future. Today, Uzbekistan has wide opportunities in both
industry and agriculture, and we can exchange mutual experiences.
From this point of view, Azerbaijani entrepreneurs have the
opportunity to acquire and apply certain knowledge in the field of
agriculture in Uzbekistan. Also, Uzbekistan receives oil products
from Azerbaijan, and this may increase in the future," he
noted.
Azerbaijani economist added that all these mentioned can affect
the trade turnover between the two countries, and I believe that we
can reach the set figure within the next five years.
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Qabil Ashirov is AzerNews' staff journalist, follow him on
Twitter: @g_ashirov