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Turkey and Uzbekistan have signed five agreements covering trade, social security and support for the business community, including a protocol expanding the scope of the existing Preferential Trade Agreement, as the two countries aim to raise their bilateral trade volume from $3.1 billion last year to $5 billion.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan met Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev in Ankara during the 13th summit of the Organization of Turkic States, discussing cooperation in trade, investment, mining, transport and the defense industry.

Five agreements signed in Ankara

The deals were concluded during a meeting between Erdoğan and Mirziyoyev, who was in Ankara for the 13th summit of the Organization of Turkic States. The two sides discussed moving relations forward in trade, investment, mining, transport and the defense industry, among other fields.

The agreements include a protocol extending the scope of the Turkey-Uzbekistan Preferential Trade Agreement, which is expected to give fresh momentum to bilateral commerce. The two leaders also signed a deal establishing a Turkey-Uzbekistan Business and Investment Council, which is meant to accelerate joint trade and investment projects and deepen cooperation between public institutions and the business community of both countries.

Mirziyoyev paid an official visit to Turkey in January, when the fourth meeting of the Turkey-Uzbekistan High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council was held. Agreements were signed at that time in areas ranging from health, transport and energy to trade, finance and culture.

Turkey runs a trade surplus

Turkey is Uzbekistan's fourth-largest trading partner. Turkish exports to Uzbekistan rose from $1.8416 billion in 2021 to $1.8775 billion in 2022, then stood at $1.8725 billion in 2023 and $2.228 billion in 2024. Exports last year amounted to $2.1 billion.

Imports from Uzbekistan declined from $1.8 billion in 2021 to $1.6825 billion in 2022 and $1.2093 billion in 2023, before reaching $1.1342 billion in 2024 and $1.0399 billion last year. Bilateral trade volume was recorded at $3.0917 billion in 2025, with Turkey posting a surplus of $1 billion in both 2024 and last year.

In the first nine months of this year, Turkey exported $1.5 billion to Uzbekistan and imported $917.4 million, putting total trade at $2.4 billion. The stated goal is to lift the volume first to $5 billion and, in the medium term, to $10 billion.

Machinery leads exports, contractors advance

Machinery, mechanical devices and instruments, along with their parts, topped Turkish exports to Uzbekistan last year at $572 million. They were followed by electrical machinery and equipment at $194 million and plastics and plastic articles at $123 million.

Copper and copper articles led Turkey's imports from the country last year at $414 million. Turkish contractors ranked 10th in Uzbekistan by contract volume in 2024 with $1.1 billion and rose to sixth place last year with $940 million. To date, Turkish builders have carried out 333 projects in Uzbekistan with a combined value exceeding $9.5 billion.

Visitor numbers climb sharply

An average of 146,000 Uzbek citizens visited Turkey each year between 2010 and 2020. That figure rose to 272,604 in 2021, while the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic were still being felt.

Arrivals continued to grow in the following years, reaching 419,673 in 2022, 470,644 in 2023 and 569,818 in 2024. Last year the number of Uzbek visitors to Turkey climbed 138.3 percent compared with 2021, totaling 649,719.

Key takeaways

• Turkey and Uzbekistan signed five agreements, including a protocol widening the scope of their Preferential Trade Agreement.
• A Turkey-Uzbekistan Business and Investment Council is being set up to speed up joint trade and investment projects.
• Bilateral trade volume was $3.0917 billion in 2025, and the target is $5 billion in the first stage and $10 billion in the medium term.
• Uzbek visitors to Turkey reached 649,719 last year, up 138.3 percent from 2021.