BAKU, April 3. /Dunyo IA/. Prime Minister of Uzbekistan Abdulla Aripov participated in a meeting of heads of government and vice-presidents of the member states of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS) in the capital of Azerbaijan, reports Dunyo IA correspondent, citing with reference to the Azerbaijan State News Agency “AZERTAC”.

During his speech, the head of government stated that to deepen economic integration, Uzbekistan considers it vital to establish a Permanent Council of the OTS on Economic Partnership, chaired by deputy prime ministers.

“We hope for the support of member states for this mechanism and its approval as soon as possible”, - Prime Minister of Uzbekistan said during the meeting, noting that the development of industrial cooperation and collaboration in the sphere of strategic reserves is one of the key areas of interaction.

“In this regard, we consider it necessary to step up efforts to establish the Union of Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Turkic States, including the adoption of a cooperation program on strategic minerals aimed at creating full-cycle value chains”, - added Abdulla Aripov.

Secretary-General of the OTS, Kubanychbek Omuraliev, also spoke at the event, calling on Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Türkiye to ratify the Digital Economy Partnership Agreement (DEPA), signed at the 11^th summit of the organization in Bishkek, as soon as possible.

“Secretary-General of the OTS emphasized that the Union of Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Turkic States could become more effective by developing institutional capacity and enhancing the role of the private sector.

“In this context, the establishment of the Turkic Investment Fund will be a significant step, supporting small and medium-sized businesses and increasing mutual trade”, - he noted.