Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev held a meeting on 24 February to discuss the current state and prospects of developing bilateral investment, trade and economic cooperation with Japan and the Republic of Korea.

It should be noted that these two countries are considered advanced not only in Asia, but also in the world as a whole, especially in the field of high technologies, and have wide investment opportunities.

Thanks to political will and regular dialogue at the highest level, relations between Uzbekistan and these states have been elevated to the rank of strategic partnership, and close contacts have been established in various areas of cooperation.

In 2019, fruitful visits took place, which opened a new page in the history of bilateral relations. So, on 18-21 April, President of the Republic of Korea Moon Jae-in visited our country, and on 17-20 December, President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev visited Japan. As a result of meetings and negotiations, a solid package of intergovernmental and interdepartmental documents and agreements in the trade, economic and investment spheres were signed.

At today’s meeting, it was noted that indicators of mutual trade and investment with these countries have been growing steadily. Last year, trade between Uzbekistan and Japan exceeded US$400 million. Today in the republic there are about 30 enterprises with the participation of capital from the Land of the Rising Sun.

Particular attention is paid to the timely and high-quality implementation of the agreements and the development of new proposals to deepen investment cooperation.

It was noted that together with Japanese partners, 48 projects are being implemented in the amount of US$6.6 billion in such fields as geology, chemistry and petrochemistry, the banking and financial sector, healthcare and education.

In particular, projects are being successfully implemented to build hotel complexes with the HIS group of companies, to expand the production capacities of SamAvto LLC JV with Isuzu and Itochu, to build power units at the Navoi TPP (Navoi-3) jointly with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and many others.

The meeting noted the need to intensify cooperation between Uzbekistan and Japan through the organization of various bilateral events, including mutual visits of business circles of the two countries, and the development of new joint projects.

Economic cooperation with the Republic of Korea is also showing significant development. So, last year, bilateral trade increased by 27 percent compared to 2018, including export - by 30.1 percent. Last year alone, 198 enterprises with the participation of Korean capital were created in Uzbekistan, and their total number exceeds 800.

It was noted that a project to build a children’s multidisciplinary medical center in Tashkent is being successfully implemented with Korean partners. Work has begun on the creation of an innovative scientific and production pharmaceutical cluster “Tashkent Farma Park” in the Kibray district of the capital region. The implementation of this project, in particular, provides for the organization of the Pharmaceutical Technical University with a research center, laboratory, vivarium, pharmacopeia center, as well as an industrial zone for the production of medicines, medical devices and medical equipment.

The promising areas of interaction include such areas as agriculture, information and communication technologies, healthcare, the chemical, light, electrical, pharmaceutical and jewelry industries, education and innovation.

With the technical assistance of the Korean International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), in 2019, two grant projects in the healthcare and standardization sectors were completed in the amount of US$13 million, at the implementation stage - 6 projects in the amount of US$29.6 million. Implementation of another 10 projects worth US$72.2 million is being considered in 2020-2022.

Within the framework of cooperation with the Eximbank of the Republic of Korea, resources in the amount of US$2 billion were attracted to the Republic of Uzbekistan to finance and co-finance priority investment projects and 14 strategically important projects were implemented. Implementation of 6 projects for a total of US$608 million has been launched.

In general, the implementation of joint projects with Japan and South Korea provides for the creation of more than 40 thousand new jobs, an increase in production by US$4.1 billion and exports by US$1.14 billion.

President Shavkat Mirziyoyev pointed out the need for full and high-quality implementation of measures defined for 2020 in accordance with the “road maps” developed following the results of the high-level visits.

On the issues discussed at the meeting, the reports of the heads of the involved ministries and departments were heard, specific measures and tasks were identified.