Фото: president.uz
Uzbek authorities have outlined plans for joint projects with Belarus following Shavkat Mirziyoyev‘s visit to Minsk. On July 15, Mirziyoyev was presented with a report on the implementation of agreements to expand interregional cooperation.
Following Mirziyoyev’s visit to Belarus on July 8-9, the two sides agreed to increase bilateral trade to $2 billion and implement 310 joint projects worth $2 billion in mechanical engineering, agriculture, pharmaceuticals, textiles, wood processing and healthcare.
“Industrial facilities and state-owned properties have been proposed for investment projects in Belarus, and extensive agricultural land is available. The country’s agricultural land covers 8 million hectares and accounts for about 40% of its territory.
These opportunities provide a solid basis for establishing joint production facilities, developing agricultural cooperation, expanding business ties and organising the employment of citizens”, Mirziyoyev’s press service said.
The Vitsyebsk and Andijan regions have approved a cooperation roadmap and begun implementing joint initiatives.
The two sides are planning new projects based at 11 livestock complexes, each designed to accommodate between 200 and 3,000 head of cattle.
With the participation of Andijon Invest, measures are being taken to launch investment and social initiatives based at a large livestock complex and a sanatorium.
A package of 30 projects worth a total of more than $100 million has been drawn up in the Vitsyebsk and other regions in the livestock, wood processing, logistics, trade and services sectors. Plans include the construction of a dairy complex for 3,000 head of cattle and a deep wood processing and pellet production facility. Funding for construction will be provided on preferential terms.
Mirziyoyev instructed officials to extend the cooperation model between the Vitsyebsk and Andijan regions to other regions. Uzbekistan’s Bukhara, Kashkadarya, Navoi, Namangan, Tashkent, Fergana, Samarkand and Surkhandarya regions will be paired with Belarus’s Vitsyebsk, Mahiliou, Hrodna, Homiel and Brest regions.
An intermodal logistics centre in Orsha is expected to be commissioned by the end of the year in cooperation with Belarusian Railway and will handle export and import cargo at preferential tariff rates. Plans also call for direct block train services between Belarus and Uzbekistan.
Particular attention was paid to the employment of Uzbek citizens in Belarus. The first 255 people arrived in the Vitsyebsk region on July 13 but already want to return home because of low wages.