The 9th meeting of the Uzbek-French Intergovernmental Commission (IGC) on Trade and Economic Cooperation chaired by Laziz Kudratov, Minister of Investment, Industry and Trade of the Republic of Uzbekistan and Oliver Becht, Minister Delegate for Foreign Trade, Economic Attractiveness and French Nationals Abroad, was held in Tashkent on May 5. It was attended by heads of relevant ministries and agencies, industry associations, representatives of business communities of the two countries.

Further development of cooperation in trade, economic, investment, industrial, cultural and humanitarian areas was discussed during the meeting.

In the course of the intergovernmental dialogue the positive dynamics of growth in trade turnover was noted. Thanks to the GSP + beneficiary status, exports to France rose by almost 3.5 times in 2022, and this year the volume of mutual trade has tripled. At the same time, attention was focused on the need to mobilize available resources to expand and diversify mutual trade. In this context, it was proposed to take measures to remove trade barriers, open trading houses, organize mutual exhibitions and fairs, to approve the medium-term program of bilateral trade development.

The meeting included the discussion of prospects for deepening industrial cooperation based on synchronization of competitive advantages of the two countries' economies - resources, access to markets of the CIS, EU and South Asia, developed infrastructure of Uzbekistan and advanced technologies, experience, innovative products and services of French partners.

The sides paid special attention to current agreements and prospective areas of cooperation in the energy and water sectors. Activities of Total Eren, EDF, Voltalia and Suez companies in Uzbekistan were highly praised, and the sides expressed mutual interest in building cooperation in developing green energy and modernizing water supply systems in several regions of our country.

Prospects of cooperation in banking and financial as well as tourism sectors were considered within the meeting’s agenda.

On the sidelines of the meeting the heads of delegations held a meeting in a small group. The parties focused on joint measures to implement the Roadmap adopted following President Mirziyoyev's official visit to France in November 2022.

Following the meeting, the parties signed final Minutes of IGC meeting, Cooperation Agreement on development of all-season tourist center in Chimgan, Memorandum of Understanding on modernization of drinking water supply system of Kashkadarya region and construction of main water pipelines in Yakkabog’, Cooperation Agreement on development of textile industry, as well as the contract on implementation of International all-season resort "Construction of Chimgan tourist zone".