It is the 32nd anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Turkey and Uzbekistan
It is the 32nd anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Turkey and Uzbekistan
Diplomatic relations between Uzbekistan, which declared independence on August 31, 1991, and Turkey, the first country to recognize this decision on December 16, 1991, were established on March 4, 1992.
The Turkish Embassy in Tashkent, which opened the first embassy in the country, began its activities in April 1992, and the Embassy of Uzbekistan in Ankara in January 1993.
In the 24 years since Uzbekistan declared independence, there have been ups and downs in its relations with Turkey for various reasons.
Due to its geostrategic position, deep history, rich cultural values, economic potential, population of more than 36 million people and common borders with all Central Asian countries, the course of relations between Uzbekistan and Turkey, which had been stagnating for many years, completely changed with the visit of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to Samarkand in November 2016.
During his visit to Samarkand, President Erdogan's meeting with President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev revived Uzbek-Turkish relations and opened a new era in bilateral relations. After that, in October 2017, Mirziyoyev became the highest-ranking Uzbek official to visit Turkey in 21 years as "president".
As a result of the close friendship and political will between the presidents of the two countries, relations were raised to the level of strategic partnership in 2017, and meetings of the Joint Economic Commission of Turkey and Uzbekistan were held, which could not be held for many years. In 2018, the High-level Strategic Cooperation Council between Turkey and Uzbekistan was established under the chairmanship of the two leaders, the first meeting of the Council was held in Ankara in February 2020 and the second meeting was held in Tashkent in March 2022.
In December 2023, the 7th meeting of the Turkey-Uzbekistan Joint Economic Commission was held in Ankara. At a meeting with the participation of a delegation headed by Deputy Prime Minister of Uzbekistan Jamshid Kochkarov, an action plan was created for the development of trade and economic relations between the two countries in 2024 and 2025.
The third meeting of the Uzbek-Turkish High-level Strategic Cooperation Council is scheduled to be held in Ankara in 2024, and President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev is expected to visit Turkey this year.
The volume of bilateral trade amounted to $3.1 billion
A new era has begun in trade relations between Turkey and Uzbekistan. The volume of bilateral trade, which amounted to $1 billion 242 million in 2016, was fixed at $2.1 billion in 2020 and $3.1 billion in 2023.
Turkey, which was among the top 5 countries in Uzbekistan's foreign trade until 2016, last year became the country's 4th trading partner with a 5 percent share. Turkey's exports to Uzbekistan in 2023 increased by 6.4 percent to $1 billion 851 million 200, while imports from Uzbekistan decreased by 24 percent to $ 1 billion 248.5 million.
Turkey mainly sold machinery, electronic goods, furniture and lighting, prefabricated buildings, automobiles, textiles, food and consumer goods, and imported plastic products, copper, zinc and cotton yarn to Uzbekistan.
There are 60 scheduled flights per week between the two countries
After Mirziyoyev took office, positive steps were taken on the visa issue, which was one of the problems that Turkish businessmen have repeatedly voiced over the years.
In 2017, the Government of Uzbekistan signed a decree on issuing visas to Turkish citizens within 3 days, and in February 2018 granted a 30-day visa-free exemption to Turkish citizens.
As a result, while mutual visits between citizens of the two countries have increased, the number of Uzbeks traveling to Turkey, which was about 150,000 in 2016, approached 500,000 in 2023.
Regular flights between the two countries, which were operated 5 times a week until 2016, have also increased significantly in recent years. With the development of relations, the number of routes operated by airlines of the two countries has also increased, and in addition to Istanbul-Tashkent flights, flights connecting the Turkish cities of Ankara and Izmir and the historical cities of Uzbekistan Samarkand, Bukhara, Urgench and Ferghana began to be organized.
There are 60 scheduled flights per week between Uzbekistan and Turkey, and this number is expected to increase in the summer season.