The announcement was made on August 5 by Kazakhstan's Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Uzbekistan, Yeraly Tugzhanov, during the Uzbekistan–Kazakhstan Business Forum.

According to the ambassador, the issue of trade restrictions was discussed at a meeting of the intergovernmental commission held in late July in the Kazakh city of Aktau with the participation of the prime ministers of both countries. He said the decisions were adopted shortly after the meeting.

"Decisions were made within a week on nearly 20 categories of goods, and the barriers will be removed from August 10. I believe we have never seen decisions of this kind taken so quickly," Tugzhanov said.

The ambassador attributed the current level of cooperation between the two countries largely to the close relationship between their presidents, saying their leadership has set the pace for bilateral cooperation, while government agencies and businesses are responsible for implementing the agreements reached.

Tugzhanov also recalled that the leaders of Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan have set a target of increasing bilateral trade to $10 billion. He said the goal appears achievable, noting that trade turnover expanded by nearly 38% during the first five months of this year.

He added that Kazakhstan has the capacity to increase exports to Uzbekistan across 261 product categories, creating additional opportunities to deepen economic cooperation.

The diplomat also said he had met with representatives of the Exporters Association of Uzbekistan to discuss challenges faced by businesses. Following those discussions, he personally visited the state border and held meetings with the relevant authorities to help accelerate solutions to some of the issues raised.

"We do not hide the fact that certain issues remain," Tugzhanov said.

Davron Vakhobov, chairman of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Uzbekistan, confirmed that the agreement covers approximately 20 categories of goods, although he did not disclose the full list.

According to Vakhobov, entrepreneurs have long called for the removal of the existing restrictions, and lifting them will become an important step in expanding bilateral trade.

"We are confident that removing all tariff and non-tariff barriers from August 10 will give a strong boost to businesses in both countries," he said.