Chairman of the Customs Committee of Uzbekistan Akmalhuzha Mavlonov met with U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Troy Miller in Washington, DC.
This is the first time in 32 years that Uzbekistan and the United States have held an official face-to-face meeting of this format between the heads of the two countries’ customs services.
Important agreements reached during the Uzbek-American summits in 2018 and 2023 paved the way for expanding mutual cooperation in all areas.
According to the agency, Uzbekistan’s foreign trade in US goods has increased by 48% over the past 6 years. For 8 months of this year, this figure increased by 64% compared to the same period last year.
It is emphasized that in order to increase these indicators, it is necessary to stimulate the expansion of foreign trade by establishing mutual cooperation and information exchange between the customs services of both countries.
That is why the negotiations focused on such pressing issues as monitoring risks at customs, digitalization of customs procedures and efficient use of human resources.
The heads of the customs services of the two countries signed an agreement on cooperation and mutual assistance, which is an important legal basis for cooperation in the field of customs. This document, which opens a new page in the relationship, provides for the exchange of information between Uzbekistan and the United States in the field of customs and serves to further strengthen cooperation in the fight against drug trafficking, human trafficking, transnational criminal groups, money laundering and customs evasion.
It is noteworthy that the United States has signed similar bilateral customs cooperation agreements with only 17 countries out of 200, and Uzbekistan is the 18th country on this list.
During the talks, the parties discussed in detail the possibilities of attracting specialists from the U.S. border and customs services to Uzbekistan, as well as the possibility of training Uzbek specialists in the United States.
During the visit, the Uzbek delegation is scheduled to familiarize itself with the activities of the U.S. National Targeting Center, the Academy of Cynology, San Antonio International Airport in Texas, the auto-border customs post in Laredo on the border with Mexico, and the Texas-Mexico international railroad crossing.
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World central banks in July, according to preliminary estimates of the World Gold Council (WGC), increased the amount of gold in their gold reserves by 37.1 tons.
The largest buyers were Poland (14.3 tons), Uzbekistan (9.6 tons) and India (5.4 tons). Jordan (4.3 tons), Turkey (3.8 tons), Qatar (2.3 tons), Czech Republic (1.6 tons), Egypt and Malta (0.1 tons each) also increased their reserves
Kazakhstan (3.9 tons) and Mongolia (0.7 tons) sold gold.
“Central banks have remained committed to hoarding gold in recent months. While the overall level of demand cooled slightly as the gold price continued to rise to new highs, it nevertheless remained positive,” WGC analyst Krishan Gopaul said in a review.
The Asian Development Bank has approved two loans to Uzbekistan totaling $400 million to implement large-scale reforms in the energy sector aimed at improving its efficiency and competitiveness, as well as developing the country’s financial markets.
ADB’s Director General for Central and West Asia, Evgeny Zhukov, said that the reforms supported by these programs will help create an enabling environment for regulators and companies to play their part in stimulating development by creating reliable domestic financial markets and meeting energy needs while fighting climate change.
ADB will provide $300 million to reform Uzbekistan’s energy sector, including creating a more effective governance structure, improving legislation, and attracting private investment.
To develop Uzbekistan’s financial market, ADB will provide $100 million to implement regulatory and institutional reforms aimed at improving market conditions to optimize financial transactions and services, and to increase supply and demand side measures to grow capital markets.
Uzbekistan joined ADB in 1995, and since then, the bank has provided $12.5 billion in loans, grants, and technical assistance to the country.
PrJSC “Pharmaceutical Firm “Darnitsa” will establish a representative office in Uzbekistan, the company reported in the information disclosure system of the National Securities and Stock Market Commission (NSSMC).
It is specified that, according to the decision of the Supervisory Board of Darnitsa adopted on July 12, the representative office will be established “in connection with the constant development”.
As reported, in 2023, Darnitsa increased its share of exports to 4%. The company exports its products to 17 countries. In particular, thanks to the confirmation of the stability of medicines in the southern climate zone and compliance in Australia, the company can expand cooperation with New Zealand, Malaysia, Yemen and South Africa. At the same time, in 2016, Darnitsa stopped exporting to the Russian Federation, and after February 24, 2022, to Belarus.
In June 2023, Darnitsa registered one of its medicines in Australia, which, according to the company, is known for some of the strictest regulatory rules in the world.
In 2023, the company increased its net income from operating activities by 32.8% compared to 2022 to UAH 6.969 billion. The company named new products and higher selling prices as the main factors of the increase in revenue.
“Darnitsa” is the leader of the Ukrainian pharmaceutical market in physical terms. The company has been present on the market for over 90 years and produces medicines of 180 brands in 15 different forms. The strategic areas of development of the portfolio are cardiology, neurology, and pain management. According to the Unified State Register of Legal Entities and Individual Entrepreneurs, the ultimate beneficiary of the company is Hlib Zagoriy.
Arkeonews reports that Chinese and Uzbek archaeologists have discovered an ancient settlement dating back to the 8th century BC in Uzbekistan, near the Surkhandarya River.
According to the newspaper, a group of Uzbek and Chinese archaeologists made three major discoveries between April and June.
While thefirst discovery relates to a settlement dating back to the 8th century BC, where a square-shaped architectural structure with several rooms, including a kiln and garbage pits, was found, offering insight into the ancient civilization that once flourished there, another major project involved the study of theancient Kushan Empire.
As a result of the joint efforts, twenty-five ancient tombs and six structures of the Kushan Empire were found. The KushanEmpire was a powerful political system that ruled the territory of modern Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. It was founded in the first century AD by the nomadic Yuezhi people.
Archaeologist Wang Meng noted that such findings are crucial for establishing the chronology of the Kushan culture in the region, helping to trace the development of civilization around the Surkhandarya region.
In the third project, the archaeologists focused on theFerghana Valley in eastern Uzbekistan, where they explored and studied 84 ruins between April and May. The research also uncovered precious cave paintings that helped paint a picture of the ancient culture of Uzbekistan’s Namangan region.
These discoveries mark the latest milestones in a longstanding archaeological partnership between Northwestern University and Uzbekistan that began in 2009. Through 2024, more than 70 joint projects have been implemented in Central Asia to study historical exchanges along the ancient Silk Road.
The President of Uzbekistan visited the BYD Uzbekistan Factory in the Jizzakh region and signed the first cars that rolled off the assembly line.
This is the first stage of a $160 million project. The plant currently produces two models of the brand’s cars. Theannual production capacity of the first stage is50 thousand units.
Thesecond stage of the $300 million project is expected to increase production to 200 thousand electric vehicles per year (in 2027-2028), 350 thousand in 2028-2029, and the third stage of the $500 million project will increase productionto500 thousand electric vehicles (starting in 2030).
For reference: In January-May 2024, Uzbekistan produced a total of 162,608 units of cars. Source – UzAUTO.
The joint venture has been provided with modern industrial infrastructure and nearly 2 km of railway tracks have been laid. The plant has modern equipment and robotic systems from China. The production process is automated. A laboratory for high-precision inspection of the geometric dimensions of electric vehicles has been set up.
As the number of electric vehicles increases, the level of localization is expected to gradually increase. First of all, the production of bumpers, glass, lacquered and plastic parts will be launched. In the future, it is planned to produce batteries, electric motors, aluminum parts, tires and seats.
In the future, the plant plans to export electric vehicles to Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, and Azerbaijan.
BYD, CARS, PLANT, UZBEKISTAN
