Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) — President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev and President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev held a joint meeting with representatives of the business communities of both countries.

The event was attended by leaders and representatives of leading Azerbaijani companies, such as PASHA Holding, SOCAR, SOFAZ, Agalarov Development, Silk Way Group, Matanat, Sarda Group, AzerGold, Azermash, the Azerbaijan Investment Holding, Azerbaijan Railways, the Alat Free Economic Zone, and others.

President of Uzbekistan warmly welcomed the company leaders and particularly noted their significant role in expanding trade and economic partnerships between Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan.

“You are the driving force of the economy, boldly implementing innovations, creating new enterprises and jobs,” Shavkat Mirziyoyev emphasized.

He noted that this event, held for the first time in such a format, will mark the beginning of a new stage in trade and economic cooperation between the two countries.

The President of Uzbekistan expressed satisfaction with the summit’s results, during which an extensive cooperation agenda was discussed, and promising areas for growth were identified. The first meeting of the High Interstate Council took place, and the Treaty of Allied Relations was signed.

“We have reached the highest level of interstate interaction and effectively opened a new chapter in Uzbek-Azerbaijani relations,” the head of Uzbekistan noted.

Shavkat Mirziyoyev emphasized that the key outcomes of the talks were agreements to create even more favorable conditions for business and comprehensive support for business communities, including for joint entry into international markets.

In recent years, significant progress has been made in this direction: trade turnover and the number of joint ventures have multiplied, various cooperation projects are being successfully implemented, interregional exchanges have intensified, and a joint investment company is operating effectively.

At the business forum, a significant portfolio of agreements and contracts worth over $2 billion was also signed.

In his speech, the President of Uzbekistan particularly emphasized that business should become the main driver and play a key role in implementing the tasks within the framework of the Year of Economic Cooperation, announced by the leaders of Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan. This includes promising projects in 20 priority areas of cooperation.

“Respected Ilham Aliyev and I are united in our opinion that the future of our cooperation depends on business. It is up to you to determine the future of the multifaceted relations between our countries,” Shavkat Mirziyoyev concluded.

The President of Uzbekistan assured entrepreneurs that all necessary conditions would be created for their successful and comfortable work.

In turn, the leaders of the leading companies expressed gratitude to the presidents of Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan for their support and shared concrete plans for the implementation of new joint projects.

At the end of the meeting, the leaders participated in the launch ceremony of new cooperative projects.

Among them are the construction of hotels and residential complexes in Tashkent, the production of building materials in the Kashkadarya region, the creation of textile clusters and a sewing factory in Azerbaijan, and other projects.

While launching these projects, the presidents expressed confidence that they would contribute to increasing the volume of mutual trade, creating modern production facilities, and new jobs.