On July 10 of this year, the 13th meeting of the joint Intergovernmental Commission on Cooperation between Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan was held in Bukhara under the chairmanship of Laziz Kudratov, Minister of Investment, Industry and Trade of the Republic of Uzbekistan, and Mikayil Jabbarov, Minister of Economy of the Republic of Azerbaijan. 

During the meeting, which was attended by the heads of relevant ministries and departments, industry associations of the two countries, the parties discussed the current state and prospects for the development of bilateral multifaceted cooperation in priority sectors. 

The dynamics of the development of bilateral trade is considered. In 2023, the trade turnover increased by 26.5% to $231.6 million. Since the beginning of this year, this figure has increased by another 2.6%. In this context, measures to bring trade to $1 billion were discussed, among which import substitution based on the analysis of demanded goods, regular trade and business missions, exhibitions of national products in major cities on a reciprocal basis were highlighted. 

A progressive increase in the scale of industrial cooperation was noted – today 236 enterprises with Azerbaijani capital operate in Uzbekistan, of which 62 are joint ventures and 174 enterprises with one hundred percent foreign capital. There are 70 Uzbek companies operating in Azerbaijan. In this direction, the intensification of the work of the Joint Uzbek-Azerbaijani Investment Fund is of great importance. Among the promising industries are projects for the production of silk products, the creation of a textile cluster, the construction of an international school, and the organization of food production. 

New promising areas of cooperation in the field of mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, building materials, energy, petrochemicals, agriculture and tourism were also identified. 

Special attention was paid to the diversification of transport corridors and the creation of logistics infrastructure in order to increase the volume of bilateral and transit cargo transportation. 

Measures for the development of interregional cooperation were discussed in a separate order. Twinning ties have been established between the cities of Gulistan and Fuzuli, Namangan and Mingechevir, Termez and Bilasuvar. Work in this direction continues. The parties agreed on the adoption of a schedule of mutual visits and the organization of the activities of a permanent working group to work out new projects and develop mutually beneficial areas of partnership. 

On the sidelines of the meeting, the heads of the two delegations met in a narrow format, during which the parties discussed in detail the steps to implement joint initiatives and worked out a format for closer cooperation. 
 
Following the commission meeting, the Final Protocol was adopted, which reflected the agreements reached, designated responsible managers and deadlines for the implementation of the tasks set.