France will support Uzbekistan's accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO), President Emmanuel Macron said as he visited the Central Asian nation on November 1.
Macron also said: “France stands for the early signing of an Agreement on Expanded Partnership and Cooperation between the European Union and Uzbekistan.”
The portfolio of active and promising investment projects of the two countries recently exceeded €10bn.
A €1bn strategic cooperation programme is being implemented jointly with the French Development Agency.
The countries are also discussing major new projects in the fields of green energy, the extraction and processing of raw materials, agriculture, water supply, logistics, infrastructure development and tourism.
In addition, there are plans to open an Uzbek-French university in Tashkent and a branch of the Alliance Francaise in Samarkand.
Bloomberg earlier described Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan as “Putin’s backyard” and speculated that Macron would seek “new friends and uranium” in the region’s number one and two economies. Kazakhstan is the world’s largest uranium producer and Uzbekistan ranks in the top five.
Don’t just follow the news—understand it.
The IntelliNews PRO service includes access to reports, exclusive market data, and more news that decision-makers care about. Stay ahead of the market with IntelliNews PRO.
Sign Up NowRelated Articles
Iran pushes farm-trade pivot to EEU as US blockade squeezes Gulf ports
The Islamic Republic of Iran wants to widen agricultural trade and joint investment with Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) states, a deputy agriculture minister told the bloc's farm-policy council ... more
Eurasian Development Bank receives first-time Ag credit rating from CCXAP
The Eurasian Development Bank (EDB) has received a first-time long-term credit rating of 'Ag' from Hong Kong-based China Chengxin Credit Ratings Company (CCXAP), with a stable ... more
Uzbekistan's Mirziyoyev heads to Minsk as Lukashenko widens his diplomatic circle
Shavkat Mirziyoyev, Uzbekistan's president, began a two-day official visit to Belarus on July 7 at the invitation of Alexander Lukashenko, in the latest sign of Minsk's push to broaden its ... more