Uzbekistan–Türkiye Trade Agreement to Cover More Products

Uzbekistan and Türkiye have agreed to expand the list of goods eligible for preferential trade treatment and signed agreements on business support and social security. Five documents were signed in Ankara on October 29 following talks between Presidents Shavkat Mirziyoyev and Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Turkish Trade Minister Ömer Bolat explained the expansion in an interview with Aziza Kurbonova, first deputy head of the Communications Department of Uzbekistan’s Presidential Administration. "In addition to the 12 products on each side already benefiting from preferential treatment, we mutually agreed to add another eight products each," Bolat said. The minister estimated annual bilateral trade at approximately $3.25 billion, with the two countries aiming to increase it to $5 billion in the near term and $10 billion in the medium term. Their presidents set the near-term target in January 2026. The new trade preferences will take effect once both countries complete their approval procedures. The other agreements signed in Ankara include one establishing a High-Level Business Support Council. Two cover social security and the implementation of those arrangements, while the fifth amends a 2022 agreement on exchanging customs information about goods and vehicles before they cross borders. According to Bolat, a Turkish business delegation led by Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz is scheduled to visit Uzbekistan on November 18 to discuss joint projects. A meeting of the Joint Intergovernmental Commission on economic cooperation is expected to take place in Ankara in December. A Turkish Trade Ministry delegation is also expected to visit Tashkent to share its experience with free trade zones. Under the existing preferential trade agreement, Uzbek agricultural exports, including onions, nuts, and dried fruit, receive preferential access to Türkiye, while Turkish industrial products, including machinery and electrical equipment, benefit from reduced import duties in Uzbekistan. The additional products covered by the new agreement have not yet been disclosed.