Türkiye aims to hike trade volume with Uzbekistan to $10B

By Mert Davut

Türkiye aims to raise the trade volume with Uzbekistan, which exceeded $3 billion last year, to $5 billion in the first stage, and then to $10 billion.

Türkiye will further improve the trade relations with Uzbekistan at the High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council meeting to be held in Ankara, and attended by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Uzbek counterpart Shavkat Mirziyoyev.

Around 5,700 Turkish firms exported their products to Uzbekistan, and around 700 Uzbek firms exported to Türkiye in 2023.

Products worth $1.2 billion were exported from Türkiye to Uzbekistan in 2019, and exports increased again in 2021 by 59.6%, reaching $1.8 billion in 2023.

Uzbek exports to Türkiye fluctuated in the last five years, as imports fell from $1.1 billion in 2019 to $970 million in 2020, and rose again to $1.8 billion in 2021, then down again at $1.68 billion, and finally the figure reached $1.2 billion last year.

Given this, the trade volume between the two countries reached $3.1 billion, and Türkiye aims to raise this figure to $5 billion in the first stage of improving trade relations.

- Machinery makes up most of exports to Uzbekistan

Turkish exports of machinery products, mechanical devices, tools, and other machinery components were the most prominent exports to Uzbekistan, reaching $540.1 million in 2023, followed by electrical machinery parts and tools with $131.4 million, plastics with $117 million, and paints and pastes with $88.5 million.

Uzbekistan’s exports were mainly copper and copper goods, valued at $473.6 million last year, followed by cotton and textile products with $340.3 million.

Turkish foreign investments in Uzbekistan made up 6.4% of the total in 2023, becoming the largest investor in Uzbekistan after China, Russia, and Saudi Arabia.

- 1,900 Turkish firms operate in Uzbekistan

Ozgur Onur Ozguven, Türkiye-Uzbekistan Business Council chairman at the Foreign Economic Relations Board, said Shavkat Mirziyoyev opened the country to the world after he became president, adding: “Türkiye and Uzbekistan did not have good political and economic relations prior to Mirziyoyev’s presidency, and our relations improved significantly when President Erdogan established a good dialogue.”

“We hope that the third meeting of the High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council will improve the trade volume,” said Ozguven.

“There are various obstacles stemming from Uzbekistan’s customs agreements, and once we overcome them, the trade volume will increase to the $5 billion target for the first stage, and to the $10 billion target in the second stage,” he noted.

“There are 1,900 Turkish firms registered in the country and their investments make up approximately $1.7 billion, and the projects by Turkish contractors amount to $7.2 billion currently,” he added.

*Writing by Emir Yildirim