Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) — The Mazhilis of Kazakhstan has ratified the Agreement between the governments of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan regulating the activities of the International Industrial Cooperation Center "Central Asia."

The document was signed on 9 November 2023 in Tashkent.

The center will operate as a complex facilitating industrial cooperation, economic, and investment collaboration. Its primary objectives include creating favorable conditions for the development of interstate cooperative ties, integrating small and medium-sized enterprises from both countries into the international value chain, enhancing the competitiveness of industrial enterprises operating within the center, and other related goals.

The center will be located in border areas near the "Atameken" (Kazakhstan) and "Gulistan" (Uzbekistan) checkpoints, which will handle border and customs control, as well as monitoring of vehicles, goods, and livestock moving between different parts of the center.

Enterprises within the center will engage in activities aimed at fostering industrial cooperation.

The complex will cover an area of 100 hectares, with 50 hectares allocated to Kazakhstan and 50 hectares to Uzbekistan.

Construction is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2026, with the center scheduled to become operational in the first half of 2027.