A forum on expansion of cooperation between Tajikistan’s Khatlon province and Uzbekistan's Surkhandarya region that took place in the Tajik southern city of Nurek on August 13 resulted in signing of 23 cooperation agreements, according to the Khatlon regional administration.
A source within the Khatlon reginal administration told Asia-Plus in an interview that the parties signed a roadmap on cooperation between the two regions, a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on cooperation in the area of tourism, and six trade contracts totaling 26 million USD.
The forum participants reportedly discussed issues related to investment opportunities and export potentials of the two regions.
While in Khatlon, entrepreneurs from the Uzbek Surkhandarya region visited small industrial enterprises and modern greenhouses operating in southern Tajikistan.
According to data from the Agency for Statistics under the President of Tajikistan, a two-way trade between Tajikistan and Uzbekistan over the first six months of this year has valued at more than 262 million USD, which is 32.4 percent fewer than in the same period last year. This consisted of Tajikistan’s exports to Uzbekistan estimated at about 97 million USD and Tajikistan’s imports from Uzbekistan worth more than 165 million USD.
