On June 8, in a video conference format the Deputy Prime Minister/ Minister of Investments and Foreign Trade of Uzbekistan S. Umurzakov discussed with the Deputy Prime Minister/Minister of Finance of Singapore Hank Sweet Kit and Senior State Minister of Trade and Industry Ko Po Koon the prospects and mechanisms for enhancing the bilateral political, trade and economic, investment, transport and cultural and humanitarian cooperation, the ministry said.
As part of the negotiations, the parties reportedly reviewed the state of projects implemented with the participation of Singaporean investors in Uzbekistan, as well as the prospects for further expansion of partnerships in the field of information and communication technologies, education and healthcare, pharmaceuticals and transport infrastructure.
Given the significant untapped potential for increasing trade, it was proposed to intensify joint work to explore the possibilities of concluding a free trade agreement between Uzbekistan and Singapore.
In addition, the sides discussed the idea of setting up an Uzbek-Singapore Business Council, a platform for developing strategic areas of cooperation and orientation of the business circles of both countries towards mutually beneficial cooperation and the implementation of joint projects.
Separately, the parties discussed the prospects for institutional cooperation in the field of capacity building and education, bearing in mind initiatives to create advanced training courses for senior officials of the ministries and departments of Uzbekistan within the framework of the Singapore Cooperation Program, and to attract Singaporean experts as strategic consultants on the development of the e-government system ”, as well as on the proposal to set up of a branch of the Singapore University of Social Sciences in the Namangan province.
