Belarusian Ambassador Highlights Bright Prospects for Enhanced Cooperation with Uzbekistan

On April 27, in an interview with Belarus 1 TV channel, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Belarus to Uzbekistan Aleksandr Ogorodnikov discussed the future potential for cooperation between the two countries.

He noted that commodity flows to Uzbekistan are well established. “Realizing that Uzbekistan lies on the Silk Road - east-west, west-east, in view of the development of the north-south corridor is developing, Uzbekistan is important for our country. Therefore, I am sure that logistics will be improving and the number of options for goods flows will be increasing,” Ambassador Aleksandr Ogorodnikov said, The Caspian Post reports citing BelTA.

There is another important component, the ambassador pointed out. “Uzbekistan will be a leader in the region. Uzbekistan can become gateway for our products further to the south. Although we know from the visits of the head of state that we have very interesting anchor points in the Gulf, which can serve as appropriate logistical hubs. But Uzbekistan is a good anchor point and the prospects are very good for us here,” he believes.

At the same time, it is necessary to search and find new niches and areas for further successful cooperation. “The country is young. Every year the birthrate statistics is different. The country is reported to have up to 600,000 babies recently. They need milk formulae, fruit, vegetable and meat purees. This is the area we can tap in,” he said. “Our company Servolux is well known in our country. Here it operates the full cycle: feed production, poultry breeding, slaughter, packaging under the Uzbek brand, and retail. Uzbek buyers are getting accustomed to our product made according to Belarusian technologies, which we are used to at home, and which guarantee the quality. We have quite a lot of such areas in which we can cooperate.

Ambassador Aleksandr Ogorodnikov also noted that in cooperation with Uzbekistan there is everything necessary for long-term and mutually beneficial cooperation. “Companies that are here for INNOPROM, will talk with their partners not so much, I am sure, about commercial cooperation. They gained a foothold here and they will discuss ways to build up presence. Belarusian business comes to Uzbekistan with long-term plans,” the head of the diplomatic mission noted.

The ambassador also shared his plans for this year. “As for this year, we expect that our Belarusian exports will grow by 6 to 7%. A lot of work needs to be done for this because the base is quite high, but the market allows us to do it,” he concluded and added that INNOPROM caters to mechanical engineering companies that can contribute to this.