Speech by the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev at the meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Union

---

Dear Sadyr Nurgozhoevich!

Dear Heads of Delegations,

I am sincerely glad to welcome all participants of the meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Union.

I would like to join the words of my colleagues and express my gratitude to the esteemed Sadyr Nurgozhoyevich for organizing our meeting.

I am confident that Kyrgyzstan's active chairmanship in the EAEU will serve to deepen the multifaceted cooperation of our countries within the framework of the Eurasian Union.

 

Dear colleagues!

Uzbekistan continues to develop partnership relations with the Eurasian Economic Union as an observer state. This is a very important direction for us, since the EAEU countries are our natural partners.

It is gratifying that joint efforts have managed to mitigate the negative consequences of the pandemic and ensure positive dynamics in trade and economic cooperation between our countries.

Thus, the trade turnover of Uzbekistan with the states of the association increased by 30% last year, and in the first four months of this year it increased by another third.

The annual growth rate of attracted investments from the EAEU countries is about 25%.

At the same time, the rapid changes and crisis phenomena taking place in the world are a serious challenge to the stability of our countries.

The era of globalization is moving into a phase of the formation of a new world order.

We are witnessing the introduction of restrictive measures on an unprecedented scale, the disruption of logistics supply chains of products and cooperative ties, the rise in prices for raw materials and food products, and the aggravation of social tensions.

We believe that in the current situation it is important to work together to develop a set of joint actions, find extraordinary solutions and use non-standard mechanisms of interaction.

Today, the task of creating favorable conditions for increasing trade and economic cooperation is more urgent than ever.

Further elimination of technical barriers and recognition of certification in mutual trade between Uzbekistan and the EAEU countries will significantly simplify the access of goods to our markets.

In this context, we count on support in the issue of non-proliferation of restrictions on the export of food and raw materials to Uzbekistan.

We also consider it important to expand agro-industrial cooperation through joint production of agricultural crops and food products.

To improve the effectiveness of these actions, we propose to develop an agro-cooperation Program.

This program could cover the issues of joint cultivation of cereals and oilseeds in the EAEU countries, as well as fruit and vegetable products, including early varieties, in Uzbekistan, in order to ensure saturation of our markets. At the same time, for its implementation, it is advisable to use, first of all, the potential of the regions of our countries.

New challenges dictate the need for further development of alternative transport corridors, strengthening transport connectivity in the Southern and Eastern directions.

In the near future, we plan to start the practical implementation of the Uzbekistan–Kyrgyzstan–China railway construction project, which will create additional opportunities for entering the markets of the Asia-Pacific region. This route will complement the existing railway lines in the direction of "East-West".

At the same time, we are ready to cooperate with our EAEU partners in the implementation of the trans-Afghan railway construction project from Termez to Peshawar in Pakistan, which will provide the shortest access to South Asia with a market of 2 billion consumers.

In addition, we advocate more efficient use of innovative potential and the development of new forms of industrial cooperation between our countries, primarily in the field of high technologies.

The first practical step in this direction was the holding of the International Industrial Exhibition "INNOPROM. Central Asia". More than a thousand companies from the countries of the Association took part in its work. We intend to further expand this important platform.

To this end, we also propose to develop a joint "Roadmap" to stimulate cooperative ties and programs to deepen localization, primarily in the fields of chemistry, pharmaceuticals, mechanical engineering, instrumentation and electronics.

At the same time, it is important to use the capabilities of our research institutes and technology centers, where new competencies are being formed.

The relevance of issues related to labor migration and the movement of specialists to our countries is increasing.

We propose to adopt the necessary documents and introduce simplified procedures that will ensure the effective involvement of labor resources in accordance with the rapidly changing needs of the economies of the EAEU member states and observers.

In the conditions of overcoming the consequences of the pandemic, the tourism sector can become a natural driver of economic development. Since the beginning of the year, we have seen a noticeable increase in the influx of tourists to Uzbekistan, primarily from the EAEU countries.

We propose to hold a Forum on the development of the tourism industry in Uzbekistan this autumn with the participation of our leading companies.

It is also important to work out the issue of fully resuming passenger transport links between our countries.

 

Dear participants of the summit!

In conclusion, I would like to once again confirm Uzbekistan's commitment to the progressive development of mutually beneficial cooperation with the Eurasian Economic Union.

I am confident that the results of today's meeting will further strengthen the multifaceted partnership, sustainable economic development and prosperity growth in our countries.

Thank you for your attention.