MILAN, May 7 (Class Editori) -- Uzbekistan asks Italy for support in the management of free trade areas and in the development of smart cities. Throughout the year, Italy and Uzbekistan intend to improve the conditions of mutual access to the market and to increase and diversify their respective exports. The focus will be on the in-depth analysis of the potential for development linked to both the 2017-2021 infrastructural investment plan and the ongoing reforms in the management of state assets and their privatization
These topics are part of the bilateral cooperation protocol signed on May, 6 by the undersecretary for economic development Michele Geraci and the vice minister for international economic relations, investments and foreign trade of the Tashkent government, Badriddin Abidov, at the sixth session of the Italo-Uzbek intergovernmental think tank.
A note from the Ministry of Economic Development describes the meeting as "collaborative and friendly". During the meeting, the strategic lines on the creation of further conditions for the development of economic and commercial relations were clarified. During last year, Italian exports to the Uzbek market recorded an increase of 90% (320.6 million euros). The protocol also intends to favor investments.
The main sectors of interest for Italian exports are consumer goods, instrumental mechanics, plant engineering and electronics, explains the website of InfoMercatiEsteri. The report outlines that Uzbek consumers and economic operators are strongly attracted to Made in Italy products. As for international competition, Italian products and technologies have to face a rough competition. The Uzbek market rewards medium and high-end products and technologies, whereas textile is the driving force behind bilateral economic cooperation.
"I am very satisfied with the topics that we have covered and the prospects for the improvement of bilateral relations. The industrial collaboration between Italy and Uzbekistan will be further strengthened in light of the similarities existing between the respective productive structures centered on small and medium enterprises. I reiterate that Italy is willing to continue its support towards the modernization of Uzbekistan and I am confident that at the next meeting we will be able to celebrate new achievements in Tashkent," commented Geraci. "In this regard, I am planning to go to Uzbekistan within 2019 and to other Central Asian countries which, we must remember, are all part of the New Silk Road, with which we can develop infrastructure, investment and commercial projects."
According to the undersecretary; "the +90% recorded in the textile sector by Italian exports to Uzbekistan represents a record on which we can build an all-round development of bilateral economic-commercial relations. The Uzbeks have asked us for concrete help in managing their free trade zones and the development of smart cities and regional infrastructures, taking advantage of the hub position that Uzbekistan can exploit in the heart of Central Asia."
(Source:Class Editori)
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