DM Monitoring
KUALA LUMPUR: Deputy Prime Minister of Uzbekistan, Sardor Umurzakov and First Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of International Trade and Industry of Malaysia, Mohamed Azmin Ali, discussed the prospects for further expanding cooperation in investment, trade and economy, transport and logistics, cultural, and tourism, .
The parties noted their interest in further increasing the volume of mutual trade by establishing strong ties between suppliers and consumers of the two countries.
An agreement was reached to combine the efforts of the Ministry of Investment and Foreign Trade of Uzbekistan and the Ministry of International Trade and Industry of Malaysia to hold a meeting of the Joint Committee on Trade, within which the Uzbek-Malaysian Business Forum will be held with the participation of leading companies of the two countries in chemical, agricultural, food, textile, and electrical industries.
The prospects of borrowing Malaysian experience in the digitalization of trade were highlighted. In this context, the CU Rewards electronic trading platform of the Consumption Union Company, enabling local exporters to sell their products to end consumers in Southeast Asia, can become an effective mechanism.
The parties also discussed plans to create a Center of Excellence for the Halal Industry in Uzbekistan in cooperation with the Uzstandard Agency and the Department of Islamic Development of Malaysia (JAKIM).
Significant prospects for cooperation between the countries were identified in the field of investments, in particular in the chemical industry, education, information technology, and the food industry.
The high potential of cooperation in the banking and financial sector was noted by opening representative offices and divisions of several Malaysian banks in Uzbekistan and establishing interbank cooperation with an emphasis on financing export-oriented projects and supporting small and medium-sized businesses in the country.
Malaysia is recognized as an international center for Islamic finance, the country has introduced an Islamic banking system, operating in parallel with the traditional one.
There are 27 local and foreign Islamic banks operating in the country. Islamic finance accounts for about 30 percent of the entire banking industry in Malaysia.
Measures were discussed to organize international air cargo transportation, create a logistics air hub, as well as the opening in Uzbekistan of the Aviation Academy Pilot Training Center following international standards.
