This important event signifies the successful conclusion of negotiations between Uzbekistan and the 27 member states of the European Union regarding market access conditions, including agreements on customs privileges for exports and imports and in the services sector, writes DUNYO. The President's Special Representative for the WTO, Azizbek Urunov, announced this on his LinkedIn page.
"More than two years of active negotiations, analyses, and collaborative work have yielded a significant result for our country. This process, carried out with dedication, determination, and mutual understanding, made it possible to reach a mutually beneficial agreement.
We express our deep gratitude to the European Union's negotiation group for their support and leadership in the negotiations, in particular to the EU's Director-General for Trade Sabine Weyand, Chief Negotiator Tamás Machczak, Marie-Pierre Nicolai, and all colleagues.
Furthermore, sincere gratitude is also expressed on behalf of Uzbekistan to our President, who provided constant assistance and encouragement throughout this process, the Head of the Presidential Administration, the Deputy Prime Minister - Chairman of the Interdepartmental Committee, as well as the members of the negotiation group.
The European Union became the 31st state to conclude bilateral negotiations with Uzbekistan. It was also reported last week that an agreement had been reached with Panama.
"It is now official: Uzbekistan has concluded negotiations with 31 WTO members, with negotiations remaining with only three countries," writes the chief negotiator.
In turn, this was also reported on the European Union's website policy.trade.ec.europa.eu.
It is written that within the framework of the negotiations, Uzbekistan defined its highest customs rates for imports and exports of goods, as well as obligations and privileges in the services sector. These agreements will be reflected in the future Protocol on Uzbekistan's accession to the WTO.
Furthermore, on the same day, the European Union and Uzbekistan also signed the Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (EPCA), covering mutually beneficial areas - trade, investment, and cooperation directions.
This step further strengthens relations between the European Union and Uzbekistan and confirms in practice the elevation of regional cooperation to a strategic level, as discussed at the "EU - Central Asia" summit held on April 4, 2025.
According to data, by the end of 2024, the European Union is Uzbekistan's third largest trading partner globally (share of total foreign trade 10.4%) and the second largest export market (share of exports 7.2%).
