Ministry of Investment, Industry and Trade of the Republic of Uzbekistan

On May 5, Tashkent hosted the inaugural meeting of the Uzbek-Slovak Intergovernmental Commission on Economic Cooperation.

The meeting was co-chaired by Mr. Vladimír Šimonek, Deputy Minister of Economy of the Slovak Republic, and Mr. Shokhrukh Gulamov, Deputy Minister of Investment, Industry and Trade of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

The parties discussed a broad range of issues aimed at strengthening and expanding bilateral cooperation. Special emphasis was placed on trade and economic collaboration. Both sides noted an increase in mutual trade turnover and reaffirmed their commitment to further expanding trade in sectors such as energy, pharmaceuticals, agriculture, and digital technologies.

In this regard, the two sides agreed to organize joint exhibitions, forums, and business missions. They also discussed utilizing financing mechanisms through the Slovak Export Bank and introducing preferential lending to support export operations.

The meeting also explored opportunities for cooperation in energy, particularly renewable energy, agriculture, and the development of critical raw materials. This includes joint efforts in geological exploration, extraction, and processing of rare and rare-earth minerals.

Initiatives were supported to deepen collaboration in transportation and the automotive industry, the development of international transport corridors, digitalization, finance and taxation, labor migration, medical and health tourism, standardization, metrology, hydrometeorology, and other technical and scientific fields.

At the conclusion of the meeting, a final protocol was signed, outlining the agreements reached. Both parties agreed to hold the next session of the Commission in Bratislava.