BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 14. Türkiye and Uzbekistan have set a target to increase the level of trade turnover to $5 billion per year in the near future, ambassador of Türkiye to Uzbekistan Olgan Bekar told TurkicWorld.

According to the ambassador, even at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the level of mutual trade between the countries continued to show positive dynamics.

"In 2021, the trade turnover between Türkiye and Uzbekistan exceeded $3.6 billion, and this indicator remained stable by 2022. Now both Uzbekistan and Türkiye doing everything possible to reach the target of $5 billion in the short term and $10 billion in the medium term," the ambassador said.

Bekar also emphasized that prosperous trade relations are the main indicator that cooperation in all areas between countries is developing in an atmosphere of mutual trust.

According to the latest data of the State Statistics Committee of Uzbekistan, trade turnover between Uzbekistan and Türkiye amounted to $547.7 million from January through February 2023, increasing by 5.7 percent, compared to the same period in 2022 ($518.1 million).

Uzbekistan’s exports to Türkiye in the reporting period made up $222.7 million, while imports - were $325 million.

Meanwhile, Uzbek statistics say that in 2022 Türkiye's trade turnover with Uzbekistan reached $3.2 billion, which is a decrease of 5.4 percent, compared to the figure for 2021 ($3.4 billion).