13 December
2024
UNECE Executive Secretary Tetyana Molchan and the Special Representative of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan on World Trade Organization (WTO) Affairs and Chief Negotiator Azizbek Urunov today signed the National Trade Facilitation Roadmap of Uzbekistan, which will serve as a strategic basis for guiding trade facilitation reforms in the country over the next five years and support for its accession to the WTO, scheduled for 2026.
The roadmap was developed using the UNECE methodology and aligned with the overall strategy of the UN Special Program for the Economies of Central Asia (SPECA), in particular the SPECA Trade Facilitation Strategy and the SPECA Principles for Sustainable Trade.
This is part of a larger effort to support Uzbekistan in integrating and benefiting from the global economy: from promoting innovation and expanding agricultural trade through reducing regulatory and procedural barriers to supporting effective public-private partnerships for expanded and sustainable infrastructure, the Executive Secretary noted. UNECE.
As a landlocked developing country with no direct access to the sea, Uzbekistan faces barriers to trade, connectivity and development and needs to rely on transit countries, resulting in higher trade costs and delays. In this regard, UNECE legal instruments and standards, in particular the UN/CEFACT package of standards, can contribute to digitization and improve connectivity along transit corridors.
Uzbekistan aims to become a key gateway for international trade in Central Asia, contributing to the development of a dynamic, efficient and inclusive trade ecosystem. At 85%, Uzbekistan achieved the highest rate of trade facilitation in Central Asia. The country is also working to improve the digitization and sustainability aspects of trade facilitation, using targeted measures to support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and enterprises led by women.
In the Roadmap, Uzbekistan states its vision to accelerate these dimensions to increase exports and gain better access to high-value markets with three main objectives:
• Transform its trade facilitation services and achieve full implementation of trade facilitation measures as provided for in the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement;
• Fully adopt digital documents and data exchange for the export and import of essential goods;
• Enter Uzbekistan into the top 50 countries according to the World Bank's Logistics Efficiency Index.
The roadmap details specific actions to achieve these goals, including improving the institutional, legal and policy framework; regulation of trade procedures; use of technologies for digitalization of trade procedures; promoting sustainable and inclusive trade; and capacity building.