Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- A meeting was held at the Uzcharmsanoat Association with a delegation led by Deputy Chairman of the Industrial Development Committee of the Ministry of Industry and Infrastructure Development of the Republic of Kazakhstan Olzhas Saparbekov. 

It was attended by associations and entrepreneurs of the two countries working in the leather and footwear sector. The agenda included the issue of further development of bilateral cooperation and implementation of joint projects.

At the beginning of the meeting, the delegation of Kazakhstan was presented with a presentation on the production, investment and export potential of the leather, footwear and fur industry. Detailed information was also provided on the legislative framework, created conditions and benefits provided to foreign investors.

“Today, Uzbekistan is considered a country that has authority in the leather and footwear industry not only in the Central Asian region, but also in the CIS and in the international arena. Foreign companies are rushing to invest in the country and cooperate with Uzbekistan. About 50% of the Kazakhstani leather and footwear market is occupied by products manufactured in Uzbekistan. For this reason, we want to work closely with the country’s enterprises and implement new investment projects,” said Olzhas Saparbekov, Deputy Chairman of the Industrial Development Committee of the Ministry of Industry and Infrastructure Development of the Republic of Kazakhstan, during the meeting.

During the meeting, proposals were also made to establish close cooperation between the enterprises of the two countries in the implementation of joint projects. The Kazakh side noted that a special program will be introduced for Uzbek enterprises, according to which they will be allocated loans at 3% and land in special industrial zones.

Today, only 4% of Kazakhstan’s domestic demand for footwear is covered by the entrepreneurs of the country itself. The rest is imported. Only 10 enterprises operate in the field of leather processing in the country, which does not allow for the complete processing of raw materials. Therefore, the members of the delegation noted the expediency of studying the experience of Uzbekistan in this direction.

The issue of increasing exports to Kazakhstan of finished leather, footwear and fur products of Uzbek production was also discussed. It should be noted that the volume of exports of shoes, leather, leather goods, artificial leather, astrakhan and wool products to Kazakhstan this year has increased significantly.

The prospects for further cooperation and the issue of organizing business missions of enterprises of the two countries to Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan were discussed in detail.