Kazakhstan will launch 65 businesses in partnership with Uzbekistan, creating 13,600 job opportunities.

The Prime Ministers of Kazakhstan, Olzhas Bektenov, and Uzbekistan, Abdulla Aripov, participated in the IV Interregional Forum "Uzbekistan – Kazakhstan" in Samarkand, as reported by inbusiness.kz citing the press service of the government of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

The progress of the agreements reached by the presidents of the two countries regarding the increase in bilateral trade turnover was reviewed. Issues of industrial cooperation, interaction in water, energy, and transit-transport sectors, as well as the gas industry, were discussed.

Uzbekistan is the main trading partner of Kazakhstan in the Central Asian region. By the end of the first eight months of 2024, the volume of mutual trade amounted to $2.5 billion. Olzhas Bektenov emphasized the need to expand measures aimed at developing trade and economic cooperation and creating favorable conditions for mutual investments.

"Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan have vast prospects for joint work in all directions. This is primarily facilitated by the trusting political dialogue between the heads of state, Kassym-Jomart Kemelovich Tokayev and Shavkat Miramonovich Mirziyoyev. A significant contribution will come from investment agreements and commercial contracts worth $7 billion, signed during the business forum in Astana. I am convinced that today’s meeting will mark the beginning of the implementation of new breakthrough projects and will make a substantial contribution to ensuring sustainable economic development throughout the Central Asian region," — stressed Olzhas Bektenov.

There is significant export potential in the petrochemical, metallurgical, automotive, industrial, food, chemical, and pharmaceutical sectors. Kazakhstan is ready to increase export supplies to Uzbekistan by more than $550 million across 40 types of high-value-added Kazakh goods.

The Prime Minister of Uzbekistan, Abdulla Aripov, noted that the priority area of relations between the countries today is the development of interregional cooperation.

"Over the past seven years, mutual trade turnover between Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan has grown by almost 2.5 times, reaching $4.4 billion last year. Currently, there are more than 1,000 enterprises operating in Uzbekistan with Kazakh capital. Border regions have established direct and close ties with each other: the Republic of Karakalpakstan with Mangystau region, Tashkent with Turkestan, and Navoi with Kyzylorda. Our other regions are also consistently strengthening ties, developing trade relations, and industrial cooperation. There is still significant potential that has yet to be realized," — noted Abdulla Aripov.

Special attention during the forum was given to the development of industrial cooperation, which includes the implementation of 74 joint projects with an investment volume of $3.4 billion and the creation of 14,600 jobs. Of these, 65 enterprises are planned to be opened in the territory of Kazakhstan, which will provide 13,600 new jobs in the country. To date, nine joint projects have been implemented in Kazakhstan, and three in Uzbekistan. This has allowed for the creation of a total of 4,800 new jobs. Examples of Kazakh-Uzbek industrial cooperation include the small-scale production of Chevrolet Onix cars in Kostanay, a household appliance factory in Sarani, sewing and spinning-weaving factories in Shymkent and Turkestan region, autoclaved aerated concrete production in Angren, among others. The establishment of the International Center for Industrial Cooperation "Central Asia" will give a new impetus to the joint work of the governments, where services based on the "one-stop-shop" principle will be introduced, along with tax, customs benefits, and other preferences for entrepreneurs.

Additionally, issues related to the development of transport and logistics potential were discussed. More than 50% of Uzbekistan's trade turnover passes through the territory of Kazakhstan in transit. Eighteen routes for passenger transportation have been established across various modes of transport, opening up new opportunities for further deepening ties.

During the IV Forum of Interregional Cooperation "Kazakhstan – Uzbekistan," 76 documents worth over $352 million were signed at the business forum. Among them is an action plan for accelerating the implementation of agreements reached at the highest level. The document provides for the implementation of joint projects in energy, mining, and geology. Agreements on cooperation in trade and economic, scientific and technical, and cultural-humanitarian spheres between the regions of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan were also signed.

It should be noted that the forum became a platform for active discussions on current challenges and prospects for cooperation. On its sidelines, leaders of ministries, akimats of border regions, and about 200 representatives of the business circles of both countries discussed issues of interregional cooperation, the development of mutual trade, and the establishment of joint ventures. In a "B2B" format, mechanisms for deepening interaction in such promising areas of the economy as metallurgy, construction industry, machine engineering, chemical industry, agriculture, food industry, IT, and tourism were considered.