The Prime Minister of Georgia, Irakli Kobakhidze, visited Tashkent on an official visit from March 4 to 5, as reported by Gazeta.uz.
Accompanied by the Prime Minister of Uzbekistan, Abdulla Aripov, Vice Prime Minister Jamshid Khojaev, and the Mayor of Tashkent, Shavkat Umurzakov, Kobakhidze laid flowers at the Independence Monument in the "Yangi O‘zbekiston" (New Uzbekistan) park.
The prime ministers also visited the "Technopark" and the Electrical Engineering Plant in Tashkent.
During the government delegations' negotiations, Irakli Kobakhidze invited Abdulla Aripov to visit Georgia on an official trip.
"We attach special importance to the development of the middle corridor. Georgia has a strategic location and has historically connected Europe and Asia, the West and the East. We want to make the most of this strategic location, and cooperation between Georgia and Uzbekistan in this direction could be very fruitful and beneficial," said the Georgian Prime Minister.
The parties agreed to focus on three key areas: further developing trade and economic relations, expanding the scope of investment and cooperation projects, and improving the transport and logistics system.
Trade between the countries in 2024 grew nearly 1.5 times – from $222.3 million to $325.7 million. Georgia and Uzbekistan agreed to make use of the Free Trade Agreement between the countries, which is expected to allow trade volume to triple in the coming years – up to $1 billion.
Abdulla Aripov noted that interregional cooperation could become an important factor in the development of bilateral relations. According to him, establishing direct cooperation between Samarkand and Batumi, Bukhara and Mtskheta would make a significant contribution to the development of trade and economic ties.
Following the tenth session of the Intergovernmental Commission on Economic Cooperation between Uzbekistan and Georgia, a memorandum of understanding in the field of public procurement and a "roadmap" for developing cooperation in agriculture were signed.
CentralasianLIGHT.org
March 6, 2025