Ahead of the visit of the President of Uzbekistan to Tajikistan on June 9, the first Uzbek-Tajik inter-provinces investment forum was held in Bokhtar, the Uzbek Ministry of Investment and Foreign Trade reported.

The event was attended by the Uzbek Deputy Prime Minister/Minister of Investments and Foreign Trade Sardor Umurzakov and First Deputy Prime Minister of Tajikistan Davlatali Said, as well as heads of ministries, banks, heads of border provinces of the two countries and about 300 businesses.

At the event, it was announced that in order to support and promote the implementation of promising joint projects in the sectors of the economy, a US$ 50 million Uzbek-Tajik investment fund is to be set up.

During the forum, the heads of the provinces and specialized departments of the two countries made speeches, presenting their vision of the possibilities of investment cooperation, as well as specific proposals for the joint implementation of new projects of industrial cooperation in such industries as the automotive, textile, leather and footwear, food and electrical engineering, as well as agriculture.

Following the forum, a cooperation agreement was signed between the Export Promotion Agency under the MIFT of Uzbekistan and the Export Agency under the Government of Tajikistan, agreements on launching joint ventures for the production of cars, transformers, household appliances, the creation of intensive gardens, greenhouse complexes and enterprises for the cultivation and processing of agricultural and fruit and vegetable products, as well as a number of trade contracts. The total value of the package of signed documents topped US$ 730 million.