According to the decree of the President of Uzbekistan dated February 28, 2024, a free trade zone called "Uzbekistan - Turkmenistan" will be established in the Shavat district of the Khorezm region on a plot of land measuring 3.1 hectares. The zone will have storage, sorting, sales and transportation infrastructures based on modern technologies. The basis for implementing the project is the agreement on the establishment of the cross-border trading zone "Shavat - Dashoguz", reached by the heads of Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan in October 2022.
The free trade zone will be created for a period of 30 years with the possibility of extension. It is planned to sell products exclusively produced in Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan within the zone. The "free customs zone" regime will be in effect, allowing for retail trading operations. Access to the zone will be organized through separate checkpoints. Citizens of Turkmenistan, as well as foreigners visiting the neighboring country, will be able to stay in the zone visa-free for up to 15 days.
Individuals, vehicles and goods will be able to move freely within the territory of the free trade zone. Buildings and structures in the trade zone will be leased to entrepreneurial entities through electronic online auctions. A "Single Window" center will be opened for entrepreneurs in the zone, providing customs, tax, certification, phytosanitary, veterinary and transportation services. It is also instructed to equip banking and currency exchange points, hotels, medical facilities and other infrastructural objects.
The project is planned to be completed within the next two years, which will allow for the development of mutual trade based on the complementarity of the economies of the two countries. In addition, the joint project will reduce logistics costs and create new jobs. A similar joint project at the border of Lebap velayat of Turkmenistan and the Bukhara region of Uzbekistan is currently under development.
The establishment of free trade zones at the Turkmen-Uzbek border is aimed at giving new impetus to the dynamic development of mutual trade, the volume of which has increased more than fivefold from 2017 to 2023. The trade turnover between Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan exceeded one billion dollars last year. Over 46,000 Turkmen citizens visited Uzbekistan for commercial purposes last year, topping the list of foreign business tourists.
