Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- On 26 September, First Deputy Chairman of the Senate of the Oliy Majlis Sodik Safoev met with a delegation led by the Chairman of the British Group in the Inter-Parliamentary Union Karen Bradley.

An exchange of views took place on expanding the political and diplomatic dialogue between Uzbekistan and the UK, intensifying parliamentary diplomacy, continuing constructive cooperation in the international arena, expanding trade and economic ties and increasing trade volumes.

Thus, special attention was paid to the fact that the UK granted Uzbekistan the status of a beneficiary of the UK Generalized System of Preferences “GSP Enhanced”.

It is worth recalling that preferences for Uzbek goods under this system are applied from 1 November 2021. As a result, the volume of exports from Uzbekistan to the UK in 2022 increased by 35%.

Particular attention was focused on the fact that the effective use of all the advantages of this system of preferences will undoubtedly contribute to the expansion of trade and economic relations and mutually beneficial ties between business circles.

Measures taken regarding Uzbekistan’s membership in the World Trade Organization in the near future were also discussed. It was noted that Uzbekistan is interested in attracting large corporations and British companies to the country to implement projects in such areas as mining, oil and gas sector, telecommunications, infrastructure, fintech, pharmaceuticals, and education.

It was noted that parliamentary interaction between Uzbekistan and the UK is consistently developing. In this vein, the need to strengthen bilateral ties through the constant exchange of delegations between parliamentarians of the two countries was emphasized.

In addition, issues of cooperation in the field of education and cultural and humanitarian ties between the two countries were discussed. As you know, there is currently active cooperation with leading UK institutions in the field of joint research, retraining of specialists, and working with manuscripts and artifacts.

Following the meeting, an agreement was reached on the further expansion of multilateral cooperation between Uzbekistan and the UK.