Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- On 5 May, the 9th meeting of the Uzbek-French Intergovernmental Commission for Trade and Economic Cooperation was held in Tashkent under the chairmanship of the Minister of Investment, Industry and Trade of the Republic of Uzbekistan Laziz Kudratov and the Minister Delegate for Foreign Trade, Economic Attractiveness and Affairs of French Citizens Abroad Olivier Besht. It was also attended by heads of relevant ministries and departments, industry associations, representatives of business circles of the two countries.

During the meeting, issues of further development of cooperation in trade, economic, investment, industrial, cultural and humanitarian spheres were discussed.

Within the framework of the intergovernmental dialogue, a positive trend in the growth of trade turnover was noted. Thanks to the status of a GSP+ beneficiary, exports to France grew by almost 3.5 times in 2022, and this year the volume of mutual trade has tripled. At the same time, attention was focused on the need to mobilize available resources to expand and diversify mutual trade. In this context, it was proposed to take measures to remove trade barriers, open trading houses, organize mutual exhibitions and fairs, and approve a medium-term program for the development of bilateral trade.

The meeting discussed the prospects for deepening industrial cooperation based on the synchronization of the competitive advantages of the economies of the two states - resources, access to the markets of the CIS, the EU, South Asia, the developed infrastructure of Uzbekistan and advanced technologies, experience, innovative products and services of French partners.

The parties paid special attention to the current agreements and promising areas of cooperation in the energy sector and water management. A high assessment was given to the activities of Total Eren, EDF, Voltalia and Suez in Uzbekistan and mutual interest was expressed in increasing cooperation in the development of "green energy" and modernizing water supply systems in a number of regions of our country.

As part of the agenda of the meeting, prospects for the development of cooperation in the banking, financial and tourism sectors were considered.

On the sidelines of the meeting, the heads of delegations held a meeting in narrow format. The focus of the parties is joint measures to implement the Road Map, adopted following the official visit of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev to France, which took place in November 2022.

As a result of the meeting, the final Protocol of the IGC meeting, the Agreement on cooperation on the development of the all-season tourist center in Chimgan, the Memorandum of Understanding on the modernization of the drinking water supply system of Kashkadarya region and the construction of main water pipelines in the city of Yakkabog, the Agreement on cooperation in the development of the textile industry, and also a contract within the framework of the project of the International all-season resort "Construction of the Chimgan tourist zone".