UPDATE - Türkiye's vice president expresses confidence in reaching $5B trade volume with Uzbekistan

REVISES SPOT & LEDE, ADDS COMMENTS BY TURKISH VICE PRESIDENT FOLLOWING MEETING WITH UZBEK PRESIDENT

By Burc Eruygur

ISTANBUL (AA) - Turkish Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz on Wednesday expressed confidence in reaching a bilateral trade volume of $5 billion with Uzbekistan, where he arrived on an official visit and to attend the 3rd Tashkent International Investment Forum.

"Our bilateral trade with Uzbekistan ... exceeded $3.1 billion by the end of 2023. We have full confidence that we will reach our $5 billion trade volume target set by our presidents soon," Yilmaz said on X after a meeting with Uzbek Economy Minister Jamshid Kuchkarov in capital city of Tashkent.

Yilmaz said he and Kuchkarov evaluated Turkish-Uzbek relations at the political, economic and cultural level, adding that they also assessed mutual investments in areas such as agriculture, construction, energy, water management, transportation and banking.

Underlining that Türkiye attaches great importance to Tashkent's role in the Organization of Turkic States, Yilmaz said they are observing Uzbekistan's "significant transformation" through ongoing reforms.

"We believe the cooperation based on the deep-rooted ties between our countries will give us even more strength," he added.

He thanked Kuchkarov and his delegation for their hospitality and expressed hope that bilateral cooperation will continue to increase.

- 'New investment opportunities'

Yilmaz later held talks with Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, and evaluated existing bilateral cooperation and new investment opportunities.

He said Türkiye attaches importance to the Tashkent International Investment Forum, adding that it will be pleasure to host Mirziyoyev in Türkiye within the scope of the upcoming High Level Strategic Cooperation Council meeting on June 6.

The Turkish vice president also met Tanzila Norbaeva, the head of Uzbekistan's Senate.