The Prime Ministers of Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan Abdulla Aripov and Askar Mamin held talks as part of the third Forum of Inter-Provinces Cooperation between Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, which took place on November 26 in Turkestan city, the press service of the Prime Minister of Kazakhstan said.
Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan account for about 70% of all regional trade in Central Asia. The two-way trade in 9 months of 2021 surapassed US$ 2.9 billion, which is 28.5% more than in the same period in 2020.
The heads of government agreed to increase the volume of the two-way trade up to US$ 5 billion in 2022 and to US$ 10 billion over 5 years.
54 investment and commercial deals were signed as part of the forum, in the fields of mechanical engineering, agro-industrial complex, production of building materials, electrical products, medical products, infrastructure development and other industries for a total amount of US$ 611.3 million.
The Prime Minister of Kazakhstan stressed the importance of cooperation between the two countries in the field of environmental protection, water and forestry. Through joint efforts during the growing season, an additional discharge of water from the Toktogul and Kairakum reservoirs was ensured, which met the needs of agricultural producers of the two states.
Askar Mamin also proposed to unite efforts to plant saxaul plantations on the drained bottom of the Aral Sea.
