Uzbekistan, Georgia Reaffirm $1bn Trade Goal in Tsinandali

Uzbekistan and Georgia reaffirmed their goal of raising bilateral trade to $1 billion at the 11th meeting of their Intergovernmental Commission on Economic Cooperation in Tsinandali, Georgia, on 12 October 2026, according to a statement from Uzbekistan's Ministry of Investment, Industry and Trade reported by Trend and UzDaily. The target is roughly 3.7 times the $267.6 million in two-way trade recorded in 2025.

The meeting was co-chaired by Laziz Kudratov, Uzbekistan's Minister of Investment, Industry and Trade, and Mariam Kvrivishvili, Georgia's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development. The ministry said the sides discussed making fuller use of their existing free trade regime and joint projects in industry, construction, agriculture, energy and finance, along with more air connections, tourism and links between regions. The statement did not mention newly signed agreements or investment figures. The next session is scheduled for Uzbekistan's Tashkent Region in spring 2027.

Poti and the Middle Corridor

Transport was a central theme. The ministry said particular attention went to the Trans-Caspian route and to an Uzbek logistics centre at the Port of Poti, “from which the first pilot shipment of products to Europe has already been carried out”. The Trans-Caspian International Transport Route, or Middle Corridor, is the China to Europe route through Kazakhstan, across the Caspian, through Azerbaijan and Georgia to Türkiye and the Black Sea. For landlocked Uzbekistan, the Georgian ports of Poti and Batumi are an important outlet, and the two governments discussed wider use of both for Uzbek cargo in July, Yep.uz reported.

Uzbekistan has been building an $18.3 million multifunctional logistics terminal in the Poti Free Industrial Zone since September 2024, and the office of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev said in August that a logistics centre with capacity for 500,000 tonnes should be commissioned at Poti in 2027, Ports Europe reported on 21 August 2026. Sputnik Georgia reported in July that Uzbek cargo transit via the Middle Corridor doubled in 2025 to 1.2 million tonnes, according to a summary by the Uzbek agency Dunyo.

Where trade stands

Two-way trade grew from $89 million in 2017 to $267.6 million in 2025, according to figures cited by Sputnik Georgia ahead of Mirziyoyev's state visit in July. Figures presented during that visit put 2025 trade at $270 million and trade since the start of 2026 at more than $100 million, Yep.uz reported on 4 July. Georgian data point to a flow weighted towards Georgian sales: Geostat recorded $195.8 million of Georgian goods exports to Uzbekistan in January to November 2025, up 54.7% year on year, making Uzbekistan Georgia's ninth-largest export market over that period. In July the two sides agreed to draw up a roadmap towards $1 billion that includes reducing the trade imbalance and holding industrial exhibitions in both countries.

From summit to commission

The commission meeting follows Mirziyoyev's state visit to Georgia on 2 and 3 July 2026, the first by an Uzbek leader in 23 years, during which he and Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze signed a declaration establishing a strategic partnership, alongside documents on customs, digital technology, education, healthcare, agriculture and other areas, Yep.uz reported. Ports Europe reported that around 70 trade and investment projects worth close to $1 billion were agreed during the visit; CBJ could not confirm that figure with a second source. Georgia has separately pledged to double rail and port capacity for the corridor, while Uzbekistan has been working with Azerbaijan on a joint Caspian fleet, as CBJ has reported.

What to watch

• Publication of the trade roadmap agreed in July, and official 2026 trade data from either side.
• Whether the Poti logistics centre is commissioned on the 2027 timetable and whether pilot shipments to Europe become regular services.
• Capacity and transit times on the corridor's Caspian and Georgian legs, which will decide whether the route is competitive for Uzbek exporters.
• The next commission session in Tashkent Region in spring 2027.

Sources: Trend, citing the Uzbek Ministry of Investment, Industry and Trade, 12 October 2026; UzDaily, 12 October 2026; UzDaily, 2 July 2026; Dunyo, citing Sputnik Georgia, 2 July 2026; Yep.uz, 4 July 2026; Ports Europe, 21 August 2026; Geostat, 19 December 2025.