TRADE AND ECONOMIC COOPERATION BETWEEN UZBEKISTAN AND FRANCE

International trade is a fundamental part of the economic activity of our republic. Ongoing reforms in this area allow saturating local and foreign markets with goods and services. Uzbekistan today is a country with an independent choice in the international community and a member of authoritative international organizations. Political-diplomatic, trade, economic and cultural ties are being established with the leading industrialized countries of the world. Uzbekistan established trade relations with more than 167 countries, which contributes to the growth of exports, manufactured in the republic. After independence in 1991, Uzbekistan quickly moved to participation in the global economy and multilateral trade. Although trade within the former-USSR remained important, major exports such as cotton and gold were sold on world markets and many imports were sourced from new suppliers. Uzbekistan applied to join the World Trade Organization (WTO) in December 1994, but negotiations lapsed after a few years. This was not uncommon among Central Asian countries, apart from Kyrgyzstan, which was the only Central Asian country to join the WTO in the two decades after the dissolution of the Soviet Union.

At the beginning of the XXI century, radical political and socio-economic shifts have taken place in the world. As a result, relations between the countries of the world have changed radically, and a wide range of opportunities has opened up for the formation of a new system of international relations based on democratic principles. The Republic of Uzbekistan, as an integral part of the world community, occupies a special place with its active participation in the formation of a new system of international relations. In this regard, in the early years of independence, colossal work is being done on the basis of clearly defined strategies, principles and priorities of Uzbekistan's foreign policy. Uzbekistan has identified cooperation with the European Union and its member states as one of its foreign policy priorities. Relations between Uzbekistan and European countries have been developing within the framework of the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement between the Republic of Uzbekistan and the European Union and its member states, which came into force on 1 July 1999 [1].

One of the important partners of Uzbekistan in the European Union is France. France is the European country that hosted the first official visit of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan to Europe. During this visit, both parties noted with pleasure that they reached agreements on a number of strategically important projects implemented in Uzbekistan with the participation of French partners in the fields of geological exploration, alternative energy sources, production of construction materials and tourism. Taking into account the technological and production potential of French companies, the Uzbekistan expressed its interest in attracting these companies to investment projects in Uzbekistan, such as the production of automotive and spare parts, construction materials, pharmaceuticals, food products, electro technical products and household appliances. During the negotiations, multiple agreements were signed, including the development of new trade and investment projects. The parties emphasized that the agreements and mutual understanding on issues of support for Uzbekistan by the relevant structures of France and the European Union will continue to facilitate the entry of Uzbekistani products to the French market in the context of acceleration and further increase in the volume of trade. As a result, the parties expressed mutual interest in increasing the volume of existing trade and diversifying the structure of mutual trade. It should be noted that France is the leader among the most active trading partners of European countries of Uzbekistan. French partners are very interested in developing the tourism potential of Uzbekistan. According to the plans of the French companies, it is expected to implement the project of creating the international resort "Beldersay-Chimyon-Nanai", attracting tourists interested in nature [3].

Diplomatic relations between France and Uzbekistan were established on 1 March 1992. With the Islam Karimov’s visit to France in 1993 a number of intergovernmental agreements, which constitute the basis for relations between France and Uzbekistan, were signed. After 11 September 2001, French involvement in Afghanistan led to strengthening political relations with Tashkent. After the suppression of the uprising in Andijan and the imposition of sanctions by the European Union (2005-2009), relations between Uzbekistan and France cooled, but were later rekindled by France through regular political dialogue and a variety of cooperation projects. The Uzbek Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Kamilov, who held office since 2012 till 2022, visited Paris on several occasions and participated in celebrations to mark the 25th anniversary of diplomatic relations between France and Central Asia on 29 March 2017. French Ministers of Foreign Affairs Laurent Fabius and Jean-Marc Ayrault also visited Uzbekistan in March 2013 and April 2017. President Mirziyoyev’s official visit to Paris on 8 and 9 October 2018 had a positive effect on bilateral cooperation. During this visit, institutional agreements and other contracts were signed, laying the basis for cooperation that is meant to strengthen in line with Uzbekistan’s desire for openness and liberalization [2].

The trade turnover between France and Uzbekistan totaled 200 million euros in 2017, this indicator continues to grow and increased by 30 percent in 2021 and by 6 percent in 2022. 46 French companies are established in Uzbekistan [6]. The French Development Agency’s (AFD) regional headquarters for Central Asia is based in Tashkent. The AFD has started its first project at Samarkand in the field of waste management. A Movement of the Enterprises of France (MEDEF) international delegation visited Tashkent in May 2017 to identify new business opportunities. The Alliance Française branch in Tashkent, the French agency responsible for linguistic and cultural outreach, has been functioning since 2015. France supports several important archaeological excavation and heritage restoration projects, including the renovation of the Ambassadors’ or Afrasiab Painting, unveiled in 2017 [2].

On November 18, 2022, a large Uzbek-French business forum was held, which was attended by more than 150 representatives of companies and holding companies of the two countries. At this forum, Jamshid Khodjaev, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign and Foreign Trade, spoke about why Uzbekistan is attractive for French investments. A politically and economically stable country, a favorable investment climate that has been achieved as a result of large-scale reforms, a qualified workforce, natural resources, a favorable geographical location, as well as financing and subsidies offered by Uzbekistan to expand the export opportunities of companies, according to Khodjaev, are the main factors that open up opportunities for increasing the inflow of French investments to Uzbekistan.

During the forum, Remy Rioux, the general director of AFD, noted the high indicators of bilateral cooperation. The agreement on expanding cooperation with AFD PROPARCO and Expertise France was signed and the program on partnership between Uzbekistan and them for 2023-2025 was adopted. The EDF (Électricité de France S.A.) showed interest in the construction of renewable energy sources in the Tashkent and Navoi regions with a combined capacity of 1,250 MW. In addition, the progress of the implementation of the project with the company EIFFAGE for the implementation of the main water pipeline with a length of 82 kilometers with 4 water storage tanks in the direction of Yakkabag-Karshi was reviewed [5].

Shavkat Mirziyoyev, the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan, will visit France by the invitation of the French President Emmanuel Macron on November 21-22 of this year. The presidents of the two countries will hold negotiations on improving mutual relations and strengthening cooperation. Discussions will focus on such topics as the development of constructive political dialogue, expansion of multilateral cooperation, implementation of investment projects in various sectors of the economy, and continuation of humanitarian and educational exchanges [6]. The visit at the highest level will definitely play an important role in the subsequent development of trade between France and Uzbekistan, which will have an unspeakable impact on the development of our country’s economy, consequently raising it to a new level.

 

Azikaev Emil Damirovich,

2^nd-year student of the Faculty of “International Relations” of the  University of World Economy and Diplomacy