Agreements, contracts and strengthening friendship. Results of the Uzbek-Belarusian forum, which was held in Khiva

The Uzbek-Belarusian inter-parliamentary forum ended in Khiva. The culmination of the large-scale dialogue was the plenary session, which adopted the Khiva Declaration and signed a package of documents that will transfer the strategic partnership of Minsk and Tashkent to a new plane. On the sidelines of the forum, 59 commercial contracts were concluded for a total of about 420 million Belarusian rubles. This is almost double the figures of last year. But the main result of the forum was warm meetings of good friends, a lively dialogue between regions, business and the younger generation.

The day began with parallel meetings. At the third meeting of the Interparliamentary Commission for Cooperation of the Council of the Republic and the Senate of the Oliy Majlis, the parties compared the hours for the implementation of joint projects. At the same time, members of the youth councils of both countries discussed promising humanitarian and social initiatives. The central event of the day was the plenary session, which was opened by Chairman of the Council of the Republic Natalia Kochanova and Chairman of the Senate of the Oliy Majlis Tanzila Narbayeva. The speakers read out welcoming addresses of the President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko and the President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev. Lukashenko sends greetings to participants of Uzbek-Belarusian inter-parliamentary forum

Addressing the forum participants, Natalia Kochanova stressed that the theme of the forum “Strategic Partnership: Development of Parliamentary Dialogue, New Challenges and Prospects of Cooperation” was chosen for a reason:

- Parliamentary diplomacy is an important component of interstate relations. It helps to better understand each other’s positions, find common solutions and eliminate possible barriers. On the instructions of the presidents, the Council of the Republic and the Senate of the Oliy Majlis exercise permanent control over the implementation of the agreements reached at the highest level. Cooperation between the legislative bodies of our countries is built on a systematic basis.

The institutional dialogue is coordinated within the framework of the signed Memorandum of Cooperation between the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus and the Senate of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan. The Inter-Parliamentary Commission for Cooperation also operates, and a plan (roadmap) of joint events for 2026-2027 has been signed.

- Our common task is to create legal conditions in which it will be easier for businesses to work, investors to make decisions, and projects to be effectively implemented, the speaker of the Council of the Republic said. We should consolidate efforts to harmonize legislation in customs, tax and other areas where this is objectively necessary.

She recalled that diplomatic relations between the two countries were established 33 years ago. The President of Belarus made his first official visit to Uzbekistan in 1994. According to her, this historical fact underlines the special importance that Belarus attaches to the partnership with Uzbekistan:

- Over the years, cooperation has become stronger and demonstrates dynamic, progressive development, which is based on a solid foundation of mutual respect, trust and common strategic interests.

An official visit of the President of Uzbekistan to Belarus took place this summer. Following the talks at the highest level, the Declaration on the Establishment of Strategic Partnership between the States was signed, a roadmap for the development of trade, economic, social and humanitarian cooperation for 2026-2030 was approved. Among the key areas are industrial cooperation and the creation of joint ventures, agriculture and food supplies, transport logistics, expansion of interregional and humanitarian ties.

- It is of fundamental importance that the Belarusian-Uzbek cooperation at the highest and highest levels is meaningful and productive. The meetings of the heads of our states set clear guidelines, form political will and determine priorities, which are then consistently implemented at the level of governments, parliaments, ministries and regions.

Natalia Kochanova added that all venues and events of the Uzbek-Belarusian inter-parliamentary forum act as an effective catalyst for economic cooperation, growth of mutual trade volumes

- Last year, trade between our countries amounted to $854 million. In the first half of this year, it grew by 34 percent. I am sure that by the end of 2026 we will overcome the historical bar of $ 1 billion.

The speaker stressed that the potential of bilateral cooperation is much higher:

- We have an ambitious task to reach the milestone of 2 billion dollars. On the sidelines of the forum, it was emphasized that this is not the limit. Belarus is ready to further increase supplies to Uzbekistan of cargo and passenger equipment, agricultural machines, optical equipment, petrochemical products, medicines, food products. We, in turn, are interested in expanding the supply of fruits and vegetables, non-ferrous metals.

Natalia Kochanova made a special emphasis on the humanitarian, scientific and educational vector, the fundamental support of which is already 550 agreements between higher educational institutions of the two countries. In the year of the 80th anniversary of the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, the Speaker of the Council of the Republic urged to carefully preserve the truth about the joint feat of ancestors and develop patriotic projects, such as the Train of Memory, in order to pass on to new generations the ideals of peace, order and justice.

The Chairman of the Council of the Republic noted the significant interregional dimension of the forum, which was attended by representatives of the Councils of Deputies of all levels - from rural to regional and the city of Minsk. Concluding her speech, Natalia Kochanova reminded the wise Uzbek proverb that by uniting, you can achieve any goals, expressing confidence that the decisions made and the Khiva Declaration will be a significant contribution to the prosperity of the two fraternal peoples.

Tanzila Narbayeva emphasized interregional cooperation in her speech:

- We already have experience of cooperation between the Andijan and Vitebsk regions. Business contacts are being developed, production and social initiatives are being discussed. The President of Uzbekistan set a task to extend this model of interaction to other regions.

At the same time, according to the speaker of the Senate of the Oliy Majlis, an effective regional partnership cannot be built on one model.

- Each area has its own strengths and needs. Some regions are interested in projects in engineering and product processing, while others are interested in cooperation in agriculture, tourism or training. It is important to find points of mutual interest and consolidate them in concrete joint plans.

In conclusion, Tanzila Narbayeva noted that the main measure of the success of the forum will be the results that people will feel:

- New opportunities for work and entrepreneurship, access to modern knowledge and technologies, conditions for self-realization of women and youth. Through such results, strategic partnership acquires a strong social footing.

The Chairman of the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly of Belarus announced the next inter-parliamentary forum and expressed sincere gratitude to the Uzbek side for the highest level of organization of events in Khiva:

The relay of the anniversary, V Uzbek-Belarusian forum is accepted by Belarus. According to the established good tradition, we will hold it in one of the regions of our republic, so that our Uzbek colleagues could get even deeper acquainted with our history, culture and economic potential.

OFFICIAL

During the plenary session, Deputy Prime Minister of Belarus Yuri Shuleyko stressed that the systemic partnership with Uzbekistan ensures a confident rise in trade and economic ties:

Uzbekistan for Belarus is one of the key trade and economic partners in Central Asia - in terms of foreign trade, it ranks third among the CIS countries and ninth among all countries of the world. Preserving and developing the traditional format of foreign trade exchange, we have moved to the stage of deeper industrial, scientific, technical and interregional integration.

According to the Deputy Prime Minister, the common goal of the governments of Belarus and Uzbekistan is to transform the agreements reached at the highest level into concrete, economically profitable projects. And work in this direction began immediately.

- Based on the strong production and intellectual resources of our countries, we see prospects for deepening integration in mechanical engineering. Uzbekistan is jointly developing the production of tractors and soil processing equipment. We continue to develop a service network for servicing Belarusian agricultural machinery. In the near future, the first multi-brand center of Belarusian equipment will open in the city of Nukus. The assembly of the first localized dump truck in Uzbekistan has been completed and preparations are being made for its testing at the quarries of the Almalyk Mining and Metallurgical Combine.

In the agro-industrial sector, the countries are aimed at the systemic development of sales channels and ensuring mutual regular supplies of food products. Thus, in Uzbekistan, retail under the brand “Gifts of Belarus” is actively expanding, we are starting to work in the regions.

- In the active phase of the project to create a full cycle of production of poultry meat. At the same time, we see the potential in the participation of Uzbek business in agricultural production in Belarus, Yuri Shuleyko said.

Mutually beneficial steps are also being taken in light industry.

- Combining our efforts in the production of high-quality knitwear and textiles gives a significant result. The integration of Belarusian manufacturers of furniture and woodworking enterprises into furniture clusters of Uzbekistan is promising, the Deputy Prime Minister added.

Another important area of further strategic cooperation between Belarus and Uzbekistan is interregional cooperation.

“The Third Forum of Regions of Belarus and Uzbekistan gave a significant impetus to cooperation, which was successfully held in Minsk in July this year,” Yuri Shuleyko said. He vividly demonstrated how common plans in agrarian, industrial and many other spheres are effectively implemented at the local level. As a follow-up to the agreements, a number of visits of Uzbek delegations at the level of regional leadership (khokims) were made to Belarus in August-September to discuss cooperation in various fields of the economy, including the creation of joint ventures and the opening of organizations with Uzbek capital in Belarus.