Uzbek president’s visit to Germany has resulted in signing of nine intergovernmental and interagency documents related to the economy, trade, finances, education, science, and innovations.
Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev was on an official visit to the Federal Republic of Germany from January 20 to 22,
Uzbek media reports say President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev and German Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel signed nine intergovernmental and interagency documents related to the economy, trade, finances, education, science, and innovations during a meeting.
The meeting reportedly focused on the trade development, economic, investment and technological cooperation.
Mirziyoyev stressed that Uzbekistan sees Germany as one of the key partners in technology and investment, as a world power with huge economic potential.
The Diplomat notes that the visit can be seen as another step back into the international arena for Uzbekistan as well as a specific bid on the part of Tashkent to attract Berlin’s businesspeople.
Ahead of the visit, on January 15, German citizens were reportedly granted the ability to travel to Uzbekistan visa-free for up to 30 days. The rest of the European Union (besides France, which got visa-free access last year), is scheduled to join the visa-free list on February 1.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Germany wants to be “Uzbekistan’s reliable partner.”
“We see a lot of opportunities to expand ties between our countries,” she said after talks with Mirziyoyev.
Mirziyoyev said he wanted to bring relations with Germany to “a tangibly new and higher level.” He stated a desire to grow bilateral trade from 700 million euros to 1 billion euros.
Meanwhile, speaking at a German-Uzbek business forum in Berlin, Uzbek Deputy Prime Minister, Suhrob Kholmuradov, noted on January 14 that 4 billion euro ($4.56 billion) worth of “protocols of intent” and investment contracts has been signed.
132 enterprises with the participation of investors from Germany, including 33 enterprises with 100 percent German capital, representative offices of 31 firms and companies, now operate in Uzbekistan. The National Bank of Uzbekistan has reportedly established correspondent relations with 57 German banks. The branch of Deutsche Bank operates in Tashkent.
