Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan are seeking to set up a joint commercial online platform, the Minister of Investment, Industry and Trade Laziz Qudratov said during the II Azerbaijan-Uzbekistan Inter-Provinces Forum in Guba.
“This will be a commercial platform where businesses can easily find each other, both for making trade transactions and jointly launching investment projects,” he said.
According to him, by launching the platform, Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan will be able to create an additional tool that will allow businesses of the two countries to “find the right partners and generate new trade and economic cooperation projects.”
The Minister added that a state visit of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to Uzbekistan is planned in August.
“During this visit, serious results will be achieved that will give a higher status and level to our relations,” he said.
Minister Qudratov noted that Uzbekistan was increasing transportation through Azerbaijan’s infrastructure, and this year more than 1 million tons of Uzbek cargo will be transported via Azerbaijan. In the first quarter, this figure reached 300 thousand tons.
“We are grateful to the Azerbaijani leadership for the benefits and preferences provided to Uzbek companies, thanks to which we are increasingly using this route,” he emphasized.
Laziz Qudratov announced the creation of a joint trading company with Azerbaijan in the field of petrochemicals and hydrocarbons.
“Now we want to increase the export of polymers from Azerbaijan. In addition, a package of joint projects is now actively developing. They will also have an effect in terms of increasing the two-way trade,” he said.
“We expect and are confident that in the next 1-2 years this level [$1 billion per year] will be reached,” Qudratov said.
Azerbaijani Minister of Economy Mikail Jabbarov said that, joint work in the textile sector is planned together with Uzbekistan in the Azerbaijan’s liberated territories.
Reportedle, during the forum, agreements were inked to establish twinning relations between the cities of Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan, in particular, between Fizuli and Gulistan, Bilasuvar and Termez, Mingachevir and Namangan.
Earlier, Laziz Qudratov said that the Uzbekneftegaz could join the Shah Deniz gas production project in Azerbaijan.
