During the meeting, the sides exchanged views on topical issues of preparation for the upcoming Conference on the Interconnectedness of the EU - Central Asia in the city of Samarkand, as well as prospects for further bilateral cooperation within the GSP+ system, Uzbekistan's accession to the WTO and acceleration of the process of signing the Agreement on Expanded Partnership and Cooperation between the Republic of Uzbekistan and the European Union.
The high level of organization of the visit of the President of the European Council Charles Michel to Uzbekistan and a wide range of agreements reached during the negotiations at the highest level were noted.
The current state and prospects of increasing the volume of bilateral trade are considered. In January-September of this year, mutual trade between Uzbekistan and the EU member states increased by almost 15% compared to the same period last year and reached $3.1 billion, which became possible thanks to Uzbekistan receiving the GSP+ beneficiary status. In this context, the European side is grateful for the comprehensive support within the framework of the first EU monitoring mission to our country.
The progress of joint work in the framework of the preparation of an Agreement on Expanded Partnership and cooperation has been studied. An agreement was reached to intensify the process of considering mutual proposals to the text of the Agreement with a view to bringing it to its signing as soon as possible.
Following the meeting, the parties expressed mutual commitment to further expand cooperation in all areas of bilateral cooperation discussed, the press service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Uzbekistan reports.
