MINSK, September 19. /Dunyo IA/.   Belarusian economic analyst Yulia Abukhovich shared her views on the current state of Uzbek-Belarusian trade and economic relations on the leading Belarusian information channel “News.by”, reports Dunyo IA correspondent.

According to the analyst, further growth in bilateral trade requires expanding the production of products with high added value. “Belarus has only recently begun moving from the development of trade relations towards industrial cooperation and the establishment of joint ventures”, the expert noted.

It was noted that Belarus offers its Uzbek partners expertise in engineering, education, medicine, biotechnology and agriculture, while the Belarusian side is interested in Uzbekistan’s potential in cotton production, fruit and vegetable production and light industry.

Significant potential also remains in the agricultural sector. Belarus offers agricultural machinery and solutions for livestock farming, while also creating conditions for Uzbek partners and providing facilities for the implementation of projects.

According to the expert, bilateral trade between the two countries has reached $1 billion. Following the historic visit of the leader of Uzbekistan to Belarus, Uzbek entrepreneurs registered more than 50 new enterprises in various regions of the country, bringing their total number to over 150.

More than 200 entrepreneurs from Uzbekistan participated in the III Belarusian-Uzbek Interregional Forum, held in Minsk on July 7–8th, while the total value of the agreements reached exceeded $1.5 billion.

According to the expert, increasing bilateral trade to $2 billion is possible through expanding industrial cooperation and producing products with high added value. “We can reach such volumes only through trade in sophisticated products with high added value”, she said.

It was noted that the signing of the Declaration establishing a strategic partnership between the two countries lays the foundation for further development of bilateral ties and consolidates long-term goals and specific areas of cooperation.

At the same time, Uzbekistan is viewed by Belarus as an important platform for accessing the markets of Central Asia and other regions. In particular, opportunities are being considered to supply Belarusian machinery to Afghanistan and other regional markets through joint ventures.