Following Slovenian-Uzbek Commission inaugural meeting, Minister Fajon highlights opportunities for enhanced cooperation

18. 11. 2025

Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs

Minister Tanja Fajon hosted Laziz Kudratov, Minister of Investment, Industry and Trade of Uzbekistan, to discuss the deepening of economic cooperation and identifying practical opportunities to expand bilateral trade. Both ministers underlined that the first meeting of the Joint Slovenian-Uzbek Commission on Economic Cooperation reflects the successful high-level engagement between the two countries in recent years.

Rokovanje pred zastavami — Minister Fajon welcomes Uzbekistan's Minister of Investment, Industry and Trade | Author STA/MZEZ

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Uzbekistan is Slovenia’s second-largest trading partner in Central Asia, after Kazakhstan. Minister Fajon welcomed the steady increase in bilateral activity, noting that each recent ministerial visit has yielded tangible results. This is Minister Kudratov’s fourth visit to Slovenia in a year. His regular meetings with Slovenian businesses have proved an effective way for supporting their entry into Uzbekistan's market.

In February 2023, Minister Fajon visited Uzbekistan, meeting Foreign Minister Bakhtiyor Saidov and leading a ten-strong business delegation to the Uzbekistan-Slovenia Business Forum in Tashkent. Together with Deputy Prime Minister Jamshid Khodjaev, she signed the agreement on economic cooperation between the two countries.

“In the coming period, we will pursue concrete opportunities for closer cooperation with Uzbekistan, including in pharmaceuticals, energy, geological exploration, rare earths, agriculture and beekeeping, sport and rail infrastructure, digitalisation, logistics, space technologies, tourism and other areas identified by the Commission,” said Minister Fajon.

Following the bilateral talks, Ministers Fajon and Kudratov co-chaired the inaugural meeting of the Joint Slovenian-Uzbek Commission, which plays a key role in identifying new business opportunities and further avenues for economic cooperation. Discussions explored opportunities to expand cooperation in advanced technologies for industry and agriculture, water resources management, rare earths, smart cities, higher education and science, transport, logistics, tourism and culture. As part of the programme, Minister Kudratov held meetings with Slovenian companies, organised by SPIRIT Slovenia.

The ministers agreed that the launch of the Commission represents the culmination of recent high-level engagement – from the signing of the economic cooperation agreement in Tashkent in 2023 to the historic visit of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev to Slovenia in May 2025. The numerous documents signed during the presidential visit set a clear direction for future cooperation.

At the end of the Commission meeting, the ministers signed the protocol.