Uzbekistan and Finland to enhance trade-economic cooperation 

According to the minister, the Finnish-Uzbek agenda of relations has great potential due to the mutual development of specific initiatives and plans for interaction. The sphere of business, education, as well as inter-parliamentary cooperation are the most effective tools for stimulating it.

“The current transformations in Uzbekistan and reforms to diversify the economy create new opportunities to raise the level of confidence among foreign businesses,” Ville Skinnari said.

The Finnish side noted that the education sector, as a vital element of contact between peoples, should play its role in creating a strong foundation for long-term Finnish-Uzbek relations. Increasing the effectiveness of the interstate trade commission directly depends on the quality of the work on thorough strategic planning.

Given the industrial base in Uzbekistan to stimulate the economy, Ville Skinnari pointed out that there are a number of opportunities to promote the industry, using the best Finnish practices.

The minister stressed the need to actively involve Finnish ambassadors at large in the process of developing cooperation plans in all areas of cooperation. In this context, the Ambassador of Finland to Uzbekistan, Ilkka Räisänen, was instructed to devote more time to searching for the most promising projects in Uzbekistan.

Hope was expressed for the early conclusion of a Framework Agreement between the governments of the two countries on the implementation of programs in Uzbekistan within the framework of the State Investment Fund of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland, which would significantly intensify the comprehensive partnership.

An agreement was reached to hold a regular meeting of the Uzbek-Finnish Intergovernmental Commission on economic, industrial and scientific-technical cooperation in Tashkent in autumn.