Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- On the eve of the 20th meeting of the Intergovernmental Commission on Bilateral Cooperation, Deputy Prime Minister - Minister of Trade and Integration of the Republic of Kazakhstan Serik Zhumangarin and Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Uzbekistan Jamshid Khodjaev discussed the progress of projects on joint road maps, according to the press service of the CIS Executive Committee.

The parties noted with satisfaction that, thanks to close interaction, the projects are moving in accordance with the established deadlines.

One of the points of the document signed by the two countries following the meeting of heads of states in December last year has already been implemented: a joint venture UZKAZTRADE has been created. A foreign trade company will be able to promptly resolve the issues of organizing systemic supplies of replacement products. Already, an agreement has been reached with Uzbek farmers on wholesale deliveries of fruits and vegetables to Kazakhstan, and negotiations are underway on forward purchases of a new crop for the next winter-spring period.

Serik Zhumangarin and Jamshid Khodjaev discussed a large-scale and strategically important point of the road map - the creation of the International Center for Industrial Cooperation "Central Asia" (ICIC) on the border of the two countries. The specialization of the ICIC involves deep processing of raw materials and the formation of added value with a high redistribution. These are, first of all, projects for the deep processing of grain and the production of vegetable oil. The Akimat of Turkestan region has already compiled a list of 63 investment projects for placement in the ICIC in the textile, food, pharmaceutical and engineering and other fields. 

The parties agreed to determine the coordinates of the project for the signing of the relevant agreement during the upcoming intergovernmental commission.

During the working meeting, Serik Zhumangarin raised the issue of providing discounts for the transportation of Kazakh goods by rail, imported to Uzbekistan. Tariff analysis conducted by NC KTZ JSC shows a significant imbalance in the prices of the two countries for the transportation of the same types of cargo. 

For example, the internal tariff of Kazakhstan for the transportation of timber is 6 times lower than that of the Uzbek railway, gasoline, diesel fuel - 3.5 times, crude oil - 1.6 times, coal - 6 times. 

The second point is discounts on the tariff for transit through Uzbekistan for transporting cargo to Afghanistan. In turn, the Uzbek side made a number of proposals, which the participants agreed to discuss at the next meeting.