MINSK, July 2. /Dunyo IA/. Minsk hosted an international “roundtable” titled “Belarus and Uzbekistan: New Avenues for Cooperation”, reports Dunyo IA correspondent.

Event was jointly organized by the Belarusian Institute of Strategic Research (BISR) and the Institute for Strategic and Regional Studies under the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan (ISRS).

Event brought together the heads of the diplomatic missions of Uzbekistan and Belarus, representatives of government ministries and agencies, state-owned enterprises and members of the expert community.

Belarusian delegation included Minister of Economy Yuri Chebotar, executives and experts from the state-owned enterprises National Export Support Centre of the Republic of Belarus and Beltamozhservice, as well as representatives of the International Business Alliance (IBA Group), the Transtekhnika National Transport Research Institute and the foreign enterprise IBA IT Park.

Uzbek delegation comprised officials and experts from the Institute for Strategic and Regional Studies under the President of Uzbekistan (ISRS),  Institute of Macroeconomic and Regional Studies under the Cabinet of Ministers of Uzbekistan, Centre for the Study of Transport and Logistics Development under the Ministry of Transport of Uzbekistan and the Agency for Strategic Development and Reforms under the President of Uzbekistan.

During the discussion, participants reviewed the current state and future prospects of Uzbekistan–Belarus cooperation. Particular attention was devoted to expanding bilateral trade, strengthening industrial and agro-industrial cooperation, enhancing transport and logistics connectivity, and promoting the adoption of new technologies. Special emphasis was also placed on identifying practical mechanisms for expanding bilateral cooperation and implementing joint initiatives of mutual interest.

Opening the roundtable, Director of the Belarusian Institute of Strategic Research Oleg Makarov highly praised the transformations taking place in Uzbekistan in recent years. He noted that the country had significantly intensified its international engagement, become a venue for numerous high-level and summit-level international events and considerably strengthened its standing as a regional actor.

In his view, Belarus and Uzbekistan have built a relationship founded on trust, openness, and mutual respect. “Today, there are virtually no barriers between Belarus and Uzbekistan”, - he stated.

Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Belarus to Uzbekistan Alexander Ogorodnikov reaffirmed that Belarusian–Uzbek relations continue to develop in a stable and consistent manner. According to the Ambassador, the two countries have effectively established a strategic partnership that is being steadily reinforced through new projects and initiatives.

Turning to concrete achievements, Ambassador highlighted the positive momentum in bilateral trade and economic cooperation. He expressed confidence that by the end of the current year Belarus and Uzbekistan would not only reach but surpass USD 1 billion in bilateral trade. “The next strategic objective should be to increase bilateral trade to USD 2 billion. Ambitious as this goal may be, both sides remain committed to identifying new growth opportunities and expanding areas of cooperation”, - he stressed.

Speaking about future prospects, Alexander Ogorodnikov identified industrial and agro-industrial cooperation as particularly promising. In his assessment, the localization of Belarusian manufacturing facilities in Uzbekistan offers considerable potential. Leveraging the country's manufacturing capacity and expanding industrial partnerships would provide a solid foundation for jointly entering third-country markets.

Ambassador also underscored the importance of transport and logistics cooperation, noting that the lack of direct access to the sea makes both Belarus and Uzbekistan particularly interested in developing efficient transport corridors. He expressed confidence that, amid the ongoing transformation of global trade routes, modern logistics infrastructure would become one of the key drivers of deeper economic partnership.

Belarusian Minister of Economy Yuri Chebotar, in turn, commended the dynamic development of bilateral relations, noting that over the past decade bilateral trade in goods has increased more than thirteenfold, while trade in services has grown by more than thirtyfold. “Today, Uzbekistan ranks third among Belarus's trading partners in terms of both goods and services and second among CIS countries in terms of accumulated Belarusian investment”, he stated.

Minister identified industrial cooperation as one of the highest priorities. He stated that Belarus stands ready to invest in joint projects, including those that facilitate comprehensive technology transfer and create high-value jobs.

In addition, Yuri Chebotar highlighted Belarus's interest in expanding cooperation in the fields of technology, industrial automation, tourism, and services.

In conclusion, participants reaffirmed their mutual commitment to further deepening bilateral cooperation and underscored the importance of maintaining a regular expert dialogue as an effective mechanism for developing practical recommendations that can contribute to strengthening relations between Uzbekistan and Belarus.