Uzbekistan becomes observer at EAEU

President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev joined an online summit of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council on December 11. Following the meeting, the leaders of the Eurasian Economic Union unanimously granted Uzbekistan an observer status. 

The event, chaired by the President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko also saw leaders of Kazakhstan, Russia, Kyrgyzstan and Armenia. Moldova participated as an observer state, as well as Cuba that was invited as a guest.

“We highly esteem the development of multifaceted cooperation with the EAEU. First, member countries are our main trading partners. In recent years, the volume of trade between Uzbekistan and the states of the union has almost doubled,” Mirziyoyev said in his address.

Uzbek President considers it is very important to fully utilize the potentials and remove obstacles in trade relations by forming new marketplaces.

Second, Mirziyoyev said that "the economies of the countries complement each other in many ways." “Third, transport communications and infrastructure are deeply integrated and closely interconnected. I am sure that the development of coordinated approaches in this direction will make it possible to more actively use transport corridors and increase competitiveness,” Uzbek President continued.

“Considering all these important factors, the Parliament of Uzbekistan has decided to cooperate with the Union as an observer state,” Mirziyoyev noted. “In our opinion, this will allow us to understand more deeply each other and better the rapid processes that are taking place within the framework of the association. At the same time, we believe that the development of such a partnership should meet the national interests of our countries, based on the principles of equality, mutual benefit”, he concluded.

The President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko congratulated his counterpart on joining the Union and expressed his hope that Uzbekistan will not be just an observer but become a full-fledged member of the Union in near future.