Uzbekistan and Belarus have agreed to step up cooperation in the trade and economic area with the aim of increasing the volume of bilateral trade to $1 billion per year, said the Deputy Prime Minister of Belarus Yuri Shuleiko during the 11th meeting of the joint intergovernmental commission on bilateral cooperation in Minsk.

“We have an ambitious goal set by the heads of state — to increase the two-way trade to $1 billion per year. We must work towards a specific result,” Shuleiko emphasized, as quoted by the press service of the Belarusian government.

According to the Uzbek authorities, in 2024 bilateral trade increased by 14.8% and reached $620.1 million. The main export items from Uzbekistan are industrial goods, finished goods, food products and transport equipment. Imports consist mainly of food products, machinery, chemicals and industrial raw materials.

Tashkent expects that the expansion of cooperation and the launch of joint ventures with high added value will expedite the growth of thiese figures.

"We attach particular importance to deepening industrial cooperation, including through the localization of modern technologies and the creation of export-oriented enterprises," Deputy PM Achilbay Ramatov said at the meeting in Minsk. He added that the development of business ties would be achived ensured by intensifying the work of the bilateral business council.

The priority areas for the parties are still the agro-industrial complex, mechanical engineering, pharmaceuticals, light and food industries. Special attention will be paid to logistics and the promotion of products to third-country markets.

The other day, Belarusian Foreign Minister Maxim Ryzhenkov visited Termez, where he and his Uzbek counterpart Bakhtiyor Saidov discussed the ways to expand trade routes through Afghanistan, in particular, through the Termez free trade zone.

At the meeting of the intergovernmental commission, the parties also discussed cooperation in the field of education, healthcare and scientific and technical exchange. Minsk expressed its readiness to expand its presence in the Uzbek market both through exports and investment projects.