Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- On 6-7 May 2019, a delegation of the Republic of Uzbekistan headed by Deputy Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade Badriddin Abidov took part in activities in Rome, aimed at enhancing and expanding trade, economic and investment cooperation with the Italian Republic.

According to the Embassy of Uzbekistan in Italy, meetings with Undersecretary of State of  the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Manlio Di Stefano and Undersecretary of State of  the Ministry of Economic Development Michele Geraci were held.

The Uzbek delegation took part in the 6th meeting of the Uzbek-Italian Intergovernmental Working Group (IWG) on Trade, Economic and Industrial Cooperation and Export Credits. Economic seminar and business forum "Uzbekistan-Italy" was also organized.

During the events, the parties noted the current positive dynamics in the development of relations between the two countries and agreed on the need to intensify joint efforts to bring them to a qualitatively new level.

The Uzbek delegation welcomed Italy’s interest in enhancing cooperation with Central Asia, including through participation in the implementation of the One Belt, One Road Initiative, with an emphasis on cooperation in the fields of economy and transport communications.

At the same time, the parties stressed the importance of the earliest normalization of the situation in Afghanistan and its economic development, welcoming each other’s efforts to facilitate this process.

The Italian side welcomed the ongoing negotiations between Uzbekistan and the European Union on the Expanded Partnership and Cooperation Agreement. It was stressed that Italy, which had played a significant role in concluding the basic Partnership and Cooperation Agreement, signed in Florence, in 1996 during its chairmanship, intends to continue to fully support the prospects for Uzbek-European cooperation.

The meeting of the IWG, the economic seminar and the Uzbekistan-Italy business forum was attended by the heads of some 250 leading Italian companies and banks, as well as representatives of a number of government agencies and financial institutions in this country.

The Uzbek delegation informed the participants in detail about the investment potential of the republic, benefits and preferences for foreign companies, promising areas of cooperation in the field of trade.

Italian partners highly appreciated the measures taken by the Government of Uzbekistan to improve the business environment in the country, as well as raising the country’s position in the Doing Business World Bank rankings and the OECD credit rating. Italy’s readiness to take an active part in the modernization of Uzbekistan’s economy was expressed.

There was a significant increase in trade turnover between the two countries - in 2018 it reached 337.6 million euros, an increase of 71.1% over the previous year. The parties agreed to take measures to consolidate this dynamic and further expand the range of mutual deliveries.

An agreement was also reached to promote the creation of joint ventures in Uzbekistan with the involvement of Italian investment, advanced technologies and know-how. Among the priority areas of cooperation are agriculture, winemaking, the textile industry, sericulture, the production of building materials, the furniture industry, the leather and footwear industry and the oil and gas sector.

In the framework of the events in Rome, the participants discussed and agreed on specific measures for the elaboration and implementation of trade and investment projects totaling over US$300 million, including by signing relevant documents.

In order to discuss practical issues of interaction in these and other areas, a series of exchanges of visits between economic structures and entrepreneurs of the two countries will be organized, including the interregional level with a special focus on Namangan and Syrdarya regions, as well as a number of exhibitions and cooperative exchanges.

The Italian representatives received with great interest the information on the work being carried out by Uzbekistan within the framework of the UN Multi-Partner Trust Fund for Human Security for the Aral Sea region. It was noted that Italy, which traditionally attaches great importance to environmental problems, is considering the issue of its participation as a donor country of this fund.

In general, in the course of numerous bilateral negotiations, the parties underlined with satisfaction that economic cooperation between our countries is reaching a new level.