A two-day exhibition of Uzbek industrial goods took place in Dushanbe last weekend.

More than 60 Uzbek companies participated in the fair that took place at the “Manege” Sports Complex in Dushanbe from March 10 to March 11.

Uzbek companies have put on display their achievements in manufacturing building materials, electrical appliances, furniture, medicines, products of light and food industries, etc. 

Tajik and Uzbek leaders who attended an official ceremony of inauguration of the exhibition on March 9 noted that the exhibition created a good platform for finding new partners and expanding trade and economic cooperation between the two countries. 

A maiden Tajik-Uzbek business forum conference took place on the sidelines of the exhibition.  Around 120 entrepreneurs from both countries participated in the forum that reportedly generated $20.5 million worth of contracts.

The second edition of the business forum is scheduled to take place in Tashkent in the second half of this year.

Recall, an agreement on holding a Tajik exhibition in Tashkent and an Uzbek exhibition in Dushanbe was signed at a session of the Tajik-Uzbek intergovernmental commission for trade and economic cooperation that took place in Dushanbe on January 10.

An agreement on holding mutual industrial exhibitions was reached between Tajikistan and Uzbekistan at the beginning of the last year.

A delegation of traders from Uzbekistan that came to Dushanbe in April last year to show off their wares in Tajikistan caused a minor sensation.  The fair that was held in Dushanbe from April 17 to 20 was the first of its kind since independence — a fresh signal of a potential thaw between the neighboring nations that have had a generally frosty relationship since the Soviet collapse in 1991.

The goods on display at the Poytakht-90 trading house ranged from the small — everyday products like candy, fabrics, medicine and footwear — to bigger-ticket items like buses, cars, air conditioners and refrigerators.

The fair served as a showcase for around 160 Uzbek companies.  For the first three days of the event, the companies were just displaying the goods, but a frenzy of sales marked the closing day.

Tajikistan held an exhibition of its industrial goods in Tashkent from October 11 to 14.  Some 150 Tajik companies participated in the exhibition that took place at the Uzexpocenter.  They put on display their achievements in mechanical engineering, mining, light and food industries, and aluminum production.  The preference was given to products of the food industry.  

According to data of the State Committee for Statistics, a two-way trade between Tajikistan and Uzbekistan last year valued at US$126 million.  This consisted of Tajikistan’s exports to Uzbekistan estimated at US$57 million and Tajikistan’s imports from Uzbekistan worth US$69 million.