Uzbekistan, Turkey developing parliamentary cooperation 

Within the framework of the meeting, a “round table” was organized on the topic “30 years of diplomatic relations between Uzbekistan and Turkey: Inter-parliamentary cooperation”.

During the event, the Turkish deputies were informed in detail about the ongoing political, social and economic transformations in Uzbekistan, domestic and foreign policy reforms, as well as new achievements in Uzbek-Turkish relations in recent years. It was noted that this year marks the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Uzbekistan and Turkey. In this regard, it was emphasized that the past five years have been marked by the rapid development of extensive bilateral ties. Five years ago, the volume of trade between Uzbekistan and Turkey was about $1 billion, and by the end of 2021 this figure reached 3.6 billion.

During the visit of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to Uzbekistan on March 29-30, at a meeting with President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, it was announced that an agreement had been reached to increase the volume of bilateral trade to $5 billion in the coming years and $10 billion in the future.

It was also noted that the agreements signed during the visit in the economic, political and military spheres will serve to bring relations between the two countries to a new and higher level, and the support of the Turkish deputies in the process of ratifying these agreements is of particular importance.

It was noted at the event that in recent years cooperation in bilateral and multilateral formats, as well as relations within the UN, UTC and other international organizations have been developing significantly.

Information was provided that during 2021-2022, the chairmanship of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization passed to Uzbekistan. At the same time, it was reported that President Shavkat Mirziyoyev said that within the framework of the country’s chairmanship in the SCO, priority tasks would be implemented to further increase the prestige and potential of the organization; adoption of the SCO Strategy in the field of development of transport connectivity; development of the Program for the development of infrastructure in the SCO space; establishment of the SCO Expert Forum in the field of information security; introduction of the institution of the SCO Goodwill Ambassador and others.

It was also reported that during the period of Uzbekistan’s chairmanship in the SCO, it is planned to hold more than 80 joint events in order to fulfill the tasks set by the head of our state.

In turn, Erol Kaya, deputy of the Turkish Grand National Assembly, head of the Commission on Legal Affairs and International Relations of the Parliamentary Assembly of Turkic-Speaking States, highly appreciated the large-scale reforms carried out under the leadership of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev in recent years, as well as changes in the development of parliamentarism.

He also noted that, at an opportunity, he is ready to visit Uzbekistan in order to strengthen and develop inter-parliamentary ties between the two countries, exchange experience in parliamentary activities, and also make a pilgrimage.