EU and Uzbekistan: trade volume at $4.4 billion

On January 30 this year, Minister of Investments, Industry and Trade Mr. Laziz Kudratov held a meeting with the Head of the EU Delegation to the Republic of Uzbekistan Charlotte Adrian. On the agenda were issues of strengthening cooperation in trade-economic and investment fields, cooperation within Uzbekistan's accession to WTO and others of mutual interest.

During the talks, the sides underscored the growth dynamics of mutual trade, the volume of which in 2022 grew by 15.7 percent to reach USD 4.4 billion. Germany, Lithuania, Italy, Poland and France are among the top five EU member states in terms of bilateral trade with Uzbekistan.

The growth trends are associated with Uzbekistan's GSP+ status, thanks to which the country has managed to raise and diversify its exports to the EU market by nearly 50% in the past year.

The European side expressed gratitude for technical-advisory support in the process of our country's accession to the WTO, in particular, through the implementation of the project "Assistance to Uzbekistan's Accession to the WTO" financed by the European Union.

The opportunities to expand the main areas of bilateral financial and technical cooperation were considered separately. In particular, the sides considered a new multi-annual indicative programme of the European Union for Uzbekistan for the years 2021-2024, for the implementation of which 76 million euros have been allocated.