There is plenty of room for co-operation

A new level of bilateral relations, specific agreements on joint projects, an extensive economic agenda — here come the main results following the official visit of the President of Belarus to Uzbekistan

belta 

The Head of the Belarusian State was awaited and greeted in Tashkent as the dearest guest. Aleksandr Lukashenko was warmly welcomed at the airport, with a guard of honour that also included female members. The solemn reception was accompanied by the flags of two countries and welcome billboards on city streets. There were a lot of friendly comments and good wishes of Internet users on local information resources: ‘Welcome, Batya!’, ‘May Lukashenko’s visit benefit both countries’, ‘May the negotiations be fruitful’. 
A solid motorcade of executive cars for the Belarusian delegation, accompanied by motorcyclists, rushing through the streets of evening Tashkent, looked especially impressive. All the attributes of the official visit testified to the fact that Belarus and its leader are known, respected and appreciated in Uzbekistan.  



The first meeting of the heads of states was informal — Aleksandr Lukashenko and Shavkat Mirziyoyev greeted each other at the Humo Arena Ice Palace. The heads of states attended the match of the Kazakhstan Open Ice Hockey Championship between Humo Tashkent and Nomad Astana.
On the first day of the Belarusian Head of State’s visit to Uzbekistan, it became known that Ilham Aliyev had won a convincing victory in the presidential elections in Azerbaijan. 
Aleksandr Lukashenko and Shavkat Mirziyoyev called their Azerbaijani counterpart together to congratulate him. 
When addressing his Azerbaijani counterpart, the Belarusian leader stressed, “Belarus is your reliable friend that shares your approaches to building fair and equitable interstate relations, strengthening security, dialogue and trust.”  
The second day of the Belarusian President’s official visit to Uzbekistan began with the wreath-laying ceremony at the Independence Monument in Tashkent. The central event was the talks between Aleksandr Lukashenko and Shavkat Mirziyoyev at the state residence of the Uzbek President — the Kuksaroy Presidential Palace. The Belarusian Head of State cordially thanked his counterpart for the traditionally warm welcome and attentive attitude towards the Belarusian delegation in the hospitable Uzbek land.  
During the negotiations that first took place in a narrow and then in a wide format, the parties discussed a wide range of questions. Aleksandr Lukashenko immediately emphasised the fundamental point underlying the co-operation between the countries and determining its prospects,
“We are watching with great interest the transformations that are taking place in Uzbekistan. The only thing you need is time. A lot was missed back in the day. You were right saying that now you have to catch up, and it is never easy. But the most important thing is that you know where to move. You are developing at an amazing pace. We are interested in the development of Uzbekistan, because we consider your country as a gateway in Central Asia.” 

Historic visit

Shavkat Mirziyoyev, in turn, pointed out, “In Uzbekistan, we feel great affection for Belarus and its people, and we sincerely rejoice at the achievements in the socio-economic development of your country. Despite the difficult situation, Belarus has ensured macroeconomic stability, curbing of inflation and consistent growth in household income. In recent years, we have managed, through joint efforts, to drastically change the nature and content of Belarus–Uzbekistan relations, bring them to a qualitatively new level. The history of our relations has never witnessed such a high level of mutual understanding and real results. I really want this visit to become historic and the results tangible.” 
The successful development of bilateral co-operation is largely facilitated by the relations between the leaders of two countries. Aleksandr Lukashenko said the following, “We have absolutely trust-based, friendly relations with you. Probably, there could not be more trust. The Uzbek and Belarusian nations are very similar people, hardworking and tolerant, real workaholics. This is the basis of our relationship.” 
The President of Belarus emphasised that the current almost $600m in trade turnover, despite being a record figure, does not correspond to the existing potential between the countries, 

“In the next year and a half, we need to reach one billion and look ahead. As long as there is agreement between the governments and heads of states, a lot has to be done. We need to ‘tie’ our relationship. Young people will come to power tomorrow — they are different. They do not have this experience. They did not go through the path that we went through. We have everything in our memory. Therefore, we must not waste this time.” 

Among the reserves for increasing mutual trade, Aleksandr Lukashenko named the creation of new and the expansion of existing partnerships at the regional level of two countries.
The President stated that Belarus is ready to contribute to the modernisation of Uzbekistan, “We have the technologies that you need today and even tomorrow. There is no need to beg for them anywhere in the world. We offer them to you with an open heart, without demanding anything in return. We are equal-sized countries, we are the same. So what will we demand from each other? We can only co-operate with you in good faith, same as you with us. There are quite a few areas where we need to learn from you. We are ready to transfer to Uzbekistan those technologies that we received from the Soviet Union, as well as those developed by our country.” 

Andrei Stasevich

Pharmaceuticals, maternity and child welfare 

The Belarusian Head of State cited the pharmaceutical industry as a vivid example. Uzbekistan is interested in the supply of medicines. In this regard, Aleksandr Lukashenko considers the creation of joint ventures to be a promising direction. Belarus is ready to lend its shoulder to Uzbekistan in healthcare, particularly in the field of maternity and child welfare.
Belarus and Uzbekistan have outlined a lot of areas for co-operation in healthcare. These include child health protection, cardiology, oncology, hematology and more.
Speaking about collaboration between the two countries in general, Aleksandr Lukashenko added that some areas are not developing as fast as they would like, “This means that it is members of the government, ministers who have fallen short. So let us do it. Once we have agreed — we must achieve our goals.”  
The Head of State said that 2024 had been declared the Year of Quality in Belarus, “This is for a long time, not just for one year. We will improve the quality. Therefore, take into consideration that our equipment will be even better.” 
Along with that, Belarus is ready not only to supply equipment, but also to create on-site service centres for its maintenance. We accumulated such experience long ago.
The President of Uzbekistan underlined that high-quality Belarusian products are well known in Uzbekistan. In turn, Uzbekistan also has a lot to offer to its partners in Belarus, Shavkat Mirziyoyev was convinced. 

Sergei Lozyuk 

Import substitution and technological sovereignty

Following the negotiations, Aleksandr Lukashenko told reporters that the deepening of industrial co-operation, the creation of joint ventures, and the provision of favourable conditions for the exchange of goods and services were discussed as priority issues. “At the same time, when setting up joint ventures, we are focused on long-term co-operation and their systematic localisation, which will ensure the creation of new jobs in Uzbekistan. The major guidelines are import substitution and technological sovereignty. Taking into account the production and intellectual resources of our countries, we see huge potential in mechanical engineering, the agro-industrial complex, and light industry.  We separately discussed the subject of deepening co-operation in the field of pharmaceuticals,” the Belarusian President specified.     
The talks also discussed collaboration with third countries, in particular, with Afghanistan. Aleksandr Lukashenko pointed out in this regard, “Neighbouring countries, especially long-suffering Afghanistan need our help and support. This primarily includes medicines, food and clothes — indispensable items for every person. The two of us can do a lot in this direction and work with Afghanistan. All conditions for this have been created in Uzbekistan. This is a very interesting topic for us. We have agreed to build factories to produce chicken meat and eggs. The reason is not because Uzbekistan lacks these products, but because we, as the President suggested, can sell them to our neighbours, first of all, to the Afghans. If we do not want Afghanistan to create problems for Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and others, we should approach it with good intentions. We need to help it feed its people so that they could live in peace. This is a usual down-to-earth approach, we adhere to it. And we are ready to work together.  That is, in the course of negotiations, we proceeded from topical issues and the needs of the Uzbek and Belarusian peoples, as well as of our neighbours. And as you know, neighbours are not to be chosen, they are given by God. I support the policy of the President of Uzbekistan, who is trying in good faith to build relations with his southern neighbour, Afghanistan.” 
The Presidents also paid attention to the co-operation on international platforms. Shavkat Mirziyoyev confirmed, “We have agreed to continue to maintain active contacts. We will deepen the dialogue within the framework of regional and international organisations — the UN, the CIS, the SCO. In this regard, Uzbekistan firmly supports the early accession of the Republic of Belarus to the Shanghai Co-operation Organisation as a full member.”  
The parties attach great importance to expanding co-operation in the cultural and humanitarian sphere. The countries are now actively collaborating in the field of science and education, implementing joint projects on experience exchange, training and internship of specialists. More than 5,000 Uzbek students are studying at Belarusian universities and under joint programmes. For comparison, a few years ago there were only a few dozen of them. 
Aleksandr Lukashenko drew attention to the expansion of collaboration in the field of sports and tourism. The Belarusian side is ready to develop contacts between the youth of the two countries, to intensify joint events, especially since Tashkent has received the status of the Youth Capital of the CIS in 2024.  
Aleksandr Lukashenko invited his Uzbek counterpart to pay an official visit to Belarus at any time convenient for him, and expressed hope for the continuation of a fruitful dialogue in Minsk, 

“I think we will achieve significantly more in a year. Today, we have coordinated the direction in which we need to move and the timing for solving the questions. We will support the Uzbek people and Uzbekistan as much as we can so that you could achieve the goals that you have set for yourself. Now, Belarus has everything that Uzbekistan needs today and tomorrow in terms of technology.” 

Following the talks between Aleksandr Lukashenko and Shavkat Mirziyoyev in Tashkent, a package of bilateral documents on the development of co-operation in various spheres was signed.

After the talks, Aleksandr Lukashenko and Shavkat Mirziyoyev visited one of the most technologically advanced production facilities in Central Asia — the Technopark production complex in Tashkent.

TECHNOPARK LLC was established in August 2019. It comprises a group of industries aimed at the production of import-substituting industrial and electrical products, household appliances, and building materials. In particular, they manufacture here refrigerators and washing machines, industrial air conditioners and cooling systems, lifts and escalators, water pumps and pumping stations, panel radiators, metal structures, industrial hot-water boilers, solar collectors and water heaters. The main partners of TECHNOPARK are Italian companies Pietro Fiorentini and Ferroli, and Samsung Electronics.

On the eve of the Belarusian President’s visit, the 2nd Forum of Regions of Belarus and Uzbekistan was held in Tashkent. The parties signed over 20 contracts and agreements for a total amount of $80m.

Based on materials of sb.by and belta.by