During a state visit to Georgia on July 3, President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev held talks with Prime Minister of Georgia Irakli Kobakhidze.
The leader of Uzbekistan noted that his state visit to Georgia, the first by a President of Uzbekistan in more than two decades, holds special significance for elevating Uzbek-Georgian relations to a new qualitative level.
Following the negotiations, Mirziyoyev and Kobakhidze signed the Declaration on the Establishment of a Strategic Partnership between their countries.
The parties discussed expanding practical cooperation in the political, trade, economic, investment, transport, transit, tourism, cultural, and humanitarian spheres.
They expressed satisfaction with the growing momentum of bilateral contacts at all levels and reaffirmed their commitment to continuing active intergovernmental, inter-parliamentary, business, cultural, and humanitarian exchanges.
Bilateral trade reached $270 million last year and has exceeded $100 million since the beginning of this year. The parties agreed to adopt a dedicated roadmap to increase this figure to $1 billion in the coming years, eliminate the trade imbalance, and expand mutual supplies of in-demand products through reciprocal industrial exhibitions.
The talks also focused on strengthening transport and transit connectivity and creating favorable conditions for unlocking the full potential of cooperation in this important area.
The leaders also discussed expanding the use of the infrastructure of the ports of Poti and Batumi for the transportation of cargo. They supported plans to establish a logistics hub, including an industrial zone and a showroom for Uzbek products.
Mirziyoyev welcomed the launch of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway corridor and proposed exploring its integration with the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway, which is currently under development.
Industrial cooperation was identified as a key priority of the bilateral partnership. The leaders highly commended the outcomes of the joint business forum held the previous day, which resulted in the signing of a Cooperation Program untill 2027.
The parties agreed to implement new joint projects in agriculture, electrical engineering, energy, pharmaceuticals, food processing, light industry, construction materials, digitalization, IT, digital banking, and tourism. To support these initiatives, they proposed establishing a joint Investment Fund.
Cultural and humanitarian ties also continue to expand. The President of Uzbekistan expressed appreciation to the Georgian side for the decision to name one of the parks in Tbilisi after the great Uzbek poet Alisher Navoi.
On the same day, Mirziyoyev and Kobakhidze took part in the unveiling ceremony of a monument to Alisher Navoi in Tbilisi.
In Uzbekistan, one of Tashkent’s central streets bears the name of the great Georgian poet Shota Rustaveli and a monument to the classic of Georgian literature has also been erected there.
Photo: president.uz
