Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- Uzbekistan and Malaysia agreed to strengthen the work of the intergovernmental joint committee on trade and transform it into an intergovernmental joint commission.

In a joint statement, the President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev and the Prime Minister of Malaysia Anwar Ibrahim noted that mutual interaction will continue in the form of visits by representatives of the business community, as well as participation in exhibitions and fairs held in both countries.

The parties also agreed to organize regular and effective business contacts not only in the main sectors of goods and services, but also in the field of tourism, healthcare and other areas of mutual benefit.

“The leaders emphasized the importance of expanding mutually beneficial trade and economic cooperation between Uzbekistan and Malaysia,” the statement noted.

Shavkat Mirziyoyev and Anwar Ibrahim also recognized the significant increase in the volume of mutual trade in goods and services between the two countries over the past seven years and expressed their readiness to further expand this cooperation in the future.

“Both leaders also agreed that it is necessary to regularly hold negotiations between the responsible departments of both countries in order to create favorable conditions for bilateral trade, expand the range of trade and increase its volumes,” the statement said.

To stimulate mutual trade, both leaders also noted the need for the systematic development of air transport links and the creation of new convenient logistics routes to facilitate doing business in both countries.

“To simplify export and import procedures, the leaders emphasized the need to accelerate cooperation between technical regulatory authorities responsible for product standards in both countries and integrate information systems in the field of phytosanitary,” the statement noted.

In 2023, total trade between Malaysia and Uzbekistan was US$94.03 million, with exports to Uzbekistan amounting to US$93.6 million and imports to US$414.52 thousand.

Both leaders also expressed satisfaction with the progressive cooperation in creating a conducive halal industry ecosystem that will bring mutual benefits.

“The leaders emphasized the opportunities for successful cooperation in various sectors of the economy and discussed possible joint projects in the fields of energy, chemistry, electronics and electrical engineering, pharmaceuticals and textiles, mining and metallurgy, agricultural processing and food industry, as well as in the field of design and construction,” - reported in the statement.

“The Malaysian side confirmed its readiness to encourage representatives of the business community to invest in Uzbekistan, while the Uzbek side expressed its readiness to provide the necessary support to Malaysian investors to simplify the procedures for doing business in Uzbekistan,” the statement said.

Both leaders also agreed to simplify investment procedures for both inbound and outbound investors, thereby creating a conducive environment for healthy exchange of investment activities between Malaysia and Uzbekistan.

“In order to stimulate mutual industrial cooperation, the leaders supported the idea of creating an Uzbek-Malaysian industrial zone on the territory of Uzbekistan, covering safe routes for goods, and also discussed issues of the legal framework for cooperation in the field of protecting entrepreneurs of both countries,” the statement noted.