Farmers participate in grape grafting training provided by the USAID AgLinks Plus Project, which teaches them innovations for increased crop yields.

USAID

Uzbekistan’s border with Afghanistan and its existing transportation infrastructure make it an attractive gateway for increasing Central Asian and Uzbek trade with Afghanistan and onward to South Asia. Uzbekistan hopes to expand economic development through more extensive cross-border trade.

USAID works to facilitate Uzbek exports to Afghanistan and other neighboring countries, train Uzbek companies on international quality standards, introduce and explain international best practices for manufacturing, and facilitate a dialogue between Uzbek companies and government agencies regarding domestic trade policies and practices. 

Results:

• USAID created several Export Partnership Groups that assist Central Asian firms in exporting their goods to the U.S. Department of Defense and to Customs Union countries (Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia).
• USAID held trainings to educate both Uzbek suppliers and U.S. Department of Defense/Defense Logistics Agency staff on export opportunities in Uzbekistan.
• USAID convened a roundtable that brought together an Uzbek Businesswomen’s Association, Uzbek government officials, local companies and regional trade experts for a frank and rare exchange about how to improve export prospects and practices for Uzbek firms.