Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- On 29 September 2021, the fourth meeting of the Uzbek-Chinese Subcommittee on Cooperation in Agriculture was held at the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Uzbekistan in the format of a video conference call (VCC).

Deputy Minister of Agriculture of the Republic of Uzbekistan Maksud Ruzmetov and Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of the PRC Ma Yusiang discussed several issues in the framework of the development of bilateral cooperation. Namely, interaction in the field of animal husbandry, veterinary medicine and fish farming, trade in agricultural products and investment cooperation, cooperation in the field of quarantine and plant protection. The improvement of cooperation in the fields of scientific research and agricultural education was discussed separately.

Opening the VCC Maksud Ruzmetov noted that Uzbekistan actively supports China's international initiative "One Belt, One Road", assessing this initiative as the revival of the Great Silk Road, an important step in expanding economic cooperation.

“Relations between Uzbekistan and China are dynamically developing in the spirit of strategic partnership, including in the field of agriculture,” said Maksud Ruzmetov, Deputy Minister of Agriculture of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

- At the end of 2020, China took the fifth place in the structure of agricultural exports of Uzbekistan in the amount of 92.8 thousand tons worth 72 million dollars, which is 1.5 times more than in 2019. At the same time, the volume of imports from China amounted to 63 thousand tons in the amount of US$47.4 million. In January-August of this year, agricultural goods worth more than US$32 million were supplied from Uzbekistan to China. We are interested in the further development of direct, long-term supplies our agricultural products to the Chinese market.

The Chinese side indicated its readiness to deepen cooperation in investment in the agricultural sector of the Republic of Uzbekistan in order to further expand trade and economic cooperation between the two countries.

The VCC participants agreed to hold the next meeting of the Subcommittee in 2023 in Uzbekistan.