On February 9 this year, Minister of Investment, Industry and Trade of the Republic of Uzbekistan Laziz Kudratov held talks with Deputy Prime Minister - Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Slovenia Tanja Fajon. During the meeting, the current state and prospects for the development of bilateral cooperation in trade, economic, investment, transport and logistics and industrial cooperation were discussed.

The Slovenian side noted the effectiveness of large-scale reforms carried out in Uzbekistan and the strategic importance of activating bilateral partnership. In this context, the importance of the Agreement on Economic Cooperation between Uzbekistan and Slovenia signed the day before, which will become the basis for further development of cooperation between the two countries, was stressed.

The positive dynamics for the growth of mutual trade turnover, which increased by 40% in 2022, was emphasized, including due to the active use of the beneficiary status of the EU system of preferences "GSP+" by Uzbekistan. The parties agreed to expand the partnership in this direction by taking measures to prolong the status and providing the necessary support to Uzbek exporters for its effective use of all the opportunities it opens.

Prospects for the development of investment partnership and industrial cooperation by holding joint business forums and "Made in Uzbekistan and Slovenia" exhibitions on a regular basis were discussed. In this context, the most promising areas for the implementation of joint projects are energy and agriculture, textile and pharmaceutical industries, infrastructure construction and IT.

Opportunities for the development of cooperation in the areas of transport and logistics were considered. In particular, the head of the Slovenian delegation proposed to establish charter and regular flights between the capitals of the two states. The parties agreed to hold consultations between the air carriers of the two countries online to discuss further practical steps in this direction.

Following the talks, the parties expressed their firm commitment to accelerate the practical implementation of the agreements reached, as well as to promote the initiative to establish the Uzbek-Slovenian Intergovernmental Commission on Economic Cooperation.