Anadolu Agency
December 16

The Joint Economic Council meeting between Turkey and Uzbekistan started in Tashkent, Uzbekistan on Tuesday.

On the first day of the meeting chaired by Foreign Trade Undersecretary Tuncer Kayalar and Uzbekistan Foreign Economic Relations Agency Deputy Chairman Hasan Islambekov at the technical level, the sides decided to lift the visa procedures for those persons having red-passports upon the proposal of Uzbek side.

The JEC protocol is expected to be signed by State Minister Mehmet Aydyn and Uzbek Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Economic Relations Agency Chairman Elyar Ganiyev on December 18.

The previous JEC protocol was signed between the two countries in Ankara in 2001.

Meanwhile, Kayalar met with businessmen in the meeting organized by Uzbek-Turkish Businessmen Association. Addressing the meeting, Kayalar said that Turkey got positive results from the changes it made in its strategy of economic relations with Central Asian countries in the last three years and foreign trade with those countries developed.

Noting that Turkey attached special importance to Uzbekistan, Kayalar said that ''Turkey will carry out many activities in Uzbekistan in 2004, we will also open the Turkish export products fair.''

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