Uzbekistan, Georgia Agree to Deepen Strategic Cooperation Across Key Sectors

Tbilisi, The Gulf Observer: President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev and Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze held bilateral talks in both restricted and expanded formats, agreeing to significantly strengthen cooperation across a wide range of sectors and elevate relations between the two countries to a new level.

During the meeting, President Mirziyoyev noted that his state visit to Georgia—the first by an Uzbek president in more than two decades—marked an important milestone in advancing bilateral ties. The two leaders reviewed progress in political, trade, economic, investment, transport, transit, tourism, cultural and humanitarian cooperation.

The leaders welcomed the growing momentum in bilateral engagement at all levels and reaffirmed their commitment to expanding intergovernmental, parliamentary, business, cultural and humanitarian exchanges.

Highlighting the steady growth in economic relations, the two sides noted that bilateral trade reached $270 million last year and had already exceeded $100 million since the beginning of the current year. They agreed to adopt a comprehensive roadmap aimed at increasing bilateral trade to $1 billion in the coming years by addressing trade imbalances and promoting reciprocal exports through joint industrial exhibitions.

Transport and transit connectivity featured prominently in the discussions, with both sides agreeing to enhance cooperation by expanding the use of the Georgian ports of Poti and Batumi for the transportation of Uzbek cargo. They also supported plans to establish a logistics hub incorporating an industrial zone and a showroom for Uzbek products.

President Mirziyoyev welcomed the launch of the Baku–Tbilisi–Kars railway corridor and proposed exploring its future integration with the China–Kyrgyzstan–Uzbekistan railway project currently under development to improve regional connectivity.

Industrial cooperation was identified as a key pillar of the bilateral partnership. The leaders praised the outcomes of the joint business forum held a day earlier, which resulted in the signing of a Cooperation Programme through 2027. They agreed to pursue new joint projects in agriculture, electrical engineering, energy, pharmaceuticals, food processing, light industry, construction materials, digitalisation, information technology, digital banking and tourism.

To facilitate these initiatives, the two sides proposed establishing a joint Investment Fund to support mutually beneficial projects.

The leaders also underscored the importance of strengthening cultural and humanitarian ties. President Mirziyoyev welcomed the successful hosting of the Days of Georgian Culture in Tashkent earlier this year and expressed appreciation for Georgia’s decision to name a park in Tbilisi after the renowned Uzbek poet Alisher Navoi. They also announced plans to hold joint educational and tourism forums in Uzbekistan later this year.

As part of efforts to deepen diplomatic engagement, the two countries agreed to establish the Embassy of the Republic of Uzbekistan in Georgia.

Following the talks, the two sides agreed to prepare a joint roadmap to ensure the effective implementation of the agreements reached during the visit.