The heads of the Uzbek and American customs services have signed an agreement “On Cooperation and Mutual Assistance,” an essential legal basis of cooperation in customs. The deal was signed in a bilateral meeting between the Chairman of the Uzbekistan’s Customs Committee, Akmalkhuja Mavlonov, and the Commissioner of the U.S. Customs Border Service, Troy Miller.
Prior to Uzbekistan, the United States had signed such bilateral agreements on customs cooperation with only 17 other countries.
After establishing diplomatic relations between Uzbekistan and the USA, an official face-to-face meeting between the heads of the customs services of the two countries is being held for the first time in the past 32 years.
Uzbekistan’s foreign trade in goods with the USA has increased by 48% in the last six years. In the first eight months of this year, this indicator increased by 64% compared to 2023.
Establishing cooperation and information exchange between the two countries’ customs services can further increase foreign trade. That’s why negotiations focused on urgent issues such as risk monitoring in customs, digitalization of customs procedures, and effective use of human resources.
The negotiations addressed the potential for U.S. Border and Customs Service specialists to be brought to Uzbekistan, as well as opportunities for Uzbek specialists to enhance their skills in the United States.
The Times of Central Asia has previously written that an American think tank, the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), has recently called on American politicians to turn Uzbekistan into a valuable partner.
