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The 5th Joint Commission Meeting (JCM) between India and Uzbekistan will be inaugurated by the Minister of State for Commerce and Industry, Shri EVKS Elangovan in Tashkent on Monday. The JCM is expected to give a boost to the trade and economic cooperation in the areas of apparels, engineering goods, basic chemicals and pharmaceuticals.
The Minister is leading a 73 member trade delegation to Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan as part of the Focus: CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) programme of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry to enhance the areas of economic cooperation between India and the CIS countries.12 countries like Armenia, Azerbaijan, Russia,Tajikistan,Kazakhstan Uzbekistan etc. are members of the CIS group. Under the Focus:CIS programme, the government gives assistance to exporter, Export Promotion Councils(EPCs), Business Chambers etc. to visit these countries, organize trade fairs and to undertake various market promotional activities. Members from various Export Promotion Councils like Basic Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals EPC, Engineering EPC, Chemicals and allied products EPC are part of the delegation. The thrust areas for cooperation are textiles, engineering goods, chemicals and pharmaceuticals.
Among other things, the delegation will also deliberate on the possibility of building an International Transport Corridor between India and CIS countries to facilitate movement of goods and services. It is expected to sign joint ventures in the fields of tourism, higher education and apparels. India is at present importing cotton and silk from Uzbekistan and it is felt that they can reap greater benefits in the post MFA regime in textiles through greater cooperation.
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