(MENAFN- Trend News Agency) TASHKENT, Uzbekistan, July 21. Akhadbek Khaydarov, Deputy Minister of Economy and Finance of Uzbekistan, conducted a working visit to Georgia, participating in a series of high-level meetings and discussions focused on budgetary, fiscal, and customs policy and administration, Trend reports.

During the visit, Deputy Minister Khaydarov met with Georgia's Deputy Ministers of Finance, Mamuka Baratashvili and Yekaterine Gunsadze, as well as Paata Kiladze, First Deputy Director of the Georgian Revenue Service. The discussions focused on Georgia's reforms in tax and customs policy and administration, with particular emphasis on medium- and long-term strategic approaches, their effectiveness, and outcomes.

The Uzbek delegation studied Georgia's methodologies for evaluating the effectiveness of tax and customs incentives, the implementation of digital technologies, enhancements to the value-added tax system, risk-based tax control and audit mechanisms, and the introduction of a unified treasury account for budget tax revenues. Comparative analyses were conducted to assess these practices alongside Uzbekistan's ongoing reforms in the same areas.

Furthermore, the delegation engaged with Georgian customs officials to exchange insights on recent customs administration reforms, digitalization initiatives, border control procedures, vehicle clearance processes, and risk management and targeting systems. The visitors also observed firsthand the operations at the "Sadakhlo" border customs post and the "Tbilisi" customs clearance zone.

The visit concluded with a mutual agreement to strengthen cooperation between Georgia's Ministry of Finance and Uzbekistan's relevant ministries and agencies. This collaboration will focus on fiscal policy formulation, macroeconomic forecasting, the provision of government services to businesses, and the enhancement of tax and customs administration.

Meanwhile, trade turnover between Uzbekistan and Georgia reached $325.7 million in 2024, reflecting a remarkable 3.7-fold increase compared to 2017 ($89.1 million). This growth underscores the expanding economic cooperation between the two countries.

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