On July 28, during the Uzbek government delegation’s visit to Turkey, the Minister of Investments and Foreign Trade Sardor Umurzakov met with the President of Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA) Serkan Kayalar, the Ministry said.

The parties discussed the current epidemiological situation in Uzbekistan and Turkey, measures taken to mitigate the negative impact of the pandemic on the economy, as well as a number of issues of cooperation in the field of public administration, development of digital technologies, agriculture and cultural-historical heritage projects.

In order to further develop technical cooperation, the parties reached an agreement on the joint development and approval of a collaboration program for 2021-2023.

The parties also discussed specific areas of cooperation for the near future, including the organization of training sessions for Uzbek government officials, the implementation of projects on reconstruction of the “Ibrohimboy” madrasa in Khiva and mosques of the Ark complex in Bukhara. The sides considered the possibility of developing and implementing projects for improving the situation in the Aral Sea region, the establishment of a training center in agriculture and the introduction of digital technologies in the tax and financial spheres of Uzbekistan.

During the meeting was reached an agreement to set up a joint working group whose tasks will include the drafting of a cooperation program for 2021-2023 and the development of proposals for accelerated implementation of projects within the discussed areas of collaboration.

Over the past three years, the agency has helped to implement 147 projects worth $26 million. Since the beginning of the partnership with TIKA, a total of 800 projects worth $52.4 million were implemented in areas of healthcare, agriculture, development of small and medium-sized businesses as well as modernization of educational institutions.