Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- On 7 February, the Minister of Investment, Industry and Trade of the Republic of Uzbekistan Laziz Kudratov took part in the Second Forum of Regions of Uzbekistan and Belarus held in Tashkent.

The delegations at the event were led by: from the Uzbek side - Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Uzbekistan Jamshid Khojaev, and from the Belarusian side - Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Belarus Leonid Zayats. Also, the Forum was attended by more than 300 heads of ministries, departments, industry associations, chambers of commerce and industry, regional administrations and representatives of the business communities of the two countries.

Opening the plenary session of the Forum, the speakers noted the stable growth dynamics of bilateral trade in recent years. At the same time, it was emphasized that there is a huge untapped potential of the economies of the two countries, which makes it possible to implement the tasks of increasing the volume of trade interaction.

The importance of developing investment cooperation and trade relations between the regions of the two countries, aimed at producing in-demand products and developing new promising markets, was emphasized. Mutual visits, holding investment forums, exhibitions, visits to enterprises and business meetings play a big role in this, which will unlock the potential of the regions and increase the effectiveness of contacts between small and medium-sized businesses locally. In this context, the speakers called on regional representatives of the Uzbek and Belarusian business circles for active and successful interaction, once again confirming the governments’ readiness to provide comprehensive support in the implementation of joint initiatives.

Promising areas of joint cooperation include the creation of a trading house, the introduction of a mechanism for preferential purchases and systemic supplies of timber and food products, and the development of cooperation in the areas of agriculture, healthcare and education.

The Forum program was continued by panel sessions dedicated to discussing current issues of developing practical cooperation in the areas of agriculture and food industry, investment interaction, sports, tourism, healthcare and youth policy.

As a result of the event, a Schedule of mutual visits of the regions of the two countries, several bilateral agreements on the development of regional cooperation, as well as a package of investment agreements and trade contracts were adopted.