Development Of Partnership And Cooperation Between The Republic Of Uzbekistan And The European Union

The article examines the relations of the Republic of Uzbekistan with the European Union within the framework of the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement. At the same time, the processes of development of trade, economic, and investment relations with EU member states are analyzed. The author demonstrates on the basis of evidence that these relations are developing particularly rapidly in the trade-economic, socio-humanitarian, and transport-communication spheres.


INTRODUCTION
The Republic of Uzbekistan, as an integral part of the world community, occupies a special place with active participation in the formation of a new system of international relations. In this regard, first of all, in the first years of independence, Uzbekistan's foreign policy has been based on clearly defined strategies, principles, and priorities. One of the priorities The American Journal of Social Science and Education Innovations (ISSN -2689-100x) At the same time, the direction of interaction with European countries is one of the priorities of the republic's foreign policy. The main feature of this direction is the establishment of relations with political, economic, and financial structures in connection with the dialogue with highly developed European countries in the political, economic, and scientific-technical spheres.
An important direction of Uzbekistan's foreign policy is the establishment and development of close mutually beneficial relations with the European Union.
Today, the European Union is an integration organization uniting 27 countries. Its main goal is to ensure stability and peace in Europe and to jointly develop the political and economic integration of member states.

RESEARCH METHODS
The research was conducted using objectivity, analysis, synthesis, comparative analysis, generalization, historical analysis, chronological methods.

RESULTS
The establishment of mutually beneficial and comprehensive cooperation between the Republic of Uzbekistan and the European Union and its member states is of great political and economic significance for both sides today. It should be noted that for young independent Uzbekistan, the development of cooperation with this organization is one of the main directions of the country's foreign policy strategy and is fully in line with national interests [1].
It is becoming a requirement of the time for the Republic of Uzbekistan to establish close ties with the world's major developed countries to create an economy with a broad infrastructure based on market relations and build a secular democratic state.
From the first years of independence of Uzbekistan, work has begun on both sides. In particular, the independence of the Republic of Uzbekistan was recognized by the Joint Declaration adopted by the 12 member states of the It is in this direction that cooperation with another economically powerful country, Germany, has reached a stage of development.
In the development of bilateral relations, President of Uzbekistan Sh.M. Mirziyoyev's visit to Berlin on January 20, 2019, opened a new era in the history of relations [14]. During the visit, the achievements of the last quarter of a century were analyzed and it was noted that in the future it is necessary to consistently develop socio-economic and culturalhumanitarian ties. In bilateral relations, specific areas for expanding cooperation in the fields of culture and arts, tourism, science and technology, education, trade and economics, investment and technology, human rights have been identified. If we analyze the economic cooperation in recent years, the volume of bilateral trade in 2018 amounted to 700 million. more than a euro. In 2019, it was planned to increase this figure to 1 billion euros. Thus, this agreement, which has more political and legal The second direction of cooperation is the TAСIS program, which is planned to provide direct practical assistance in the development of more economic, technical and scientific, transport and communication sectors [16]. It should be noted that until the signing of the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement, which was the main direction of cooperation for ten years.
Since the adoption of the Memorandum of Understanding between the Republic of Uzbekistan and the EU in 1992, the TACIS program has been launched [17].
As a result, the following accelerated reforms in the Republic of Uzbekistan have been financed by the TACIS program:  Human resource development;  Development of organizations and institutions;  Production, processing and distribution of food products.
However, it should be noted that TACIS projects are implemented in the framework of national and interstate programs. Therefore, the European Commission regularly finances close cooperation with Uzbekistan under the TACIS program. In turn, many projects of interstate programs provide technical and financial assistance to several CIS countries simultaneously. This can be seen from the early first days of the TACIS program projects when financial resources were allocated.
Another noteworthy aspect of the EU TACIS program is that there are several other specialized programs under this program. The European Union plans to introduce such programs in Uzbekistan as well.
One such important and promising program is the TRACECA (Transport corridor Europe Caucasus Asia) project [18]. It aims to build a transport corridor to connect Europe-Caucasus-Asia.
The TRACECA project is one of several projects under the TACIS program, which includes several projects aimed at providing technical assistance to the Commonwealth of Independent States by the European Union [19].
Another noteworthy aspect of the EU TASIS program is that there are several other specialized programs under this program. The European Union plans to introduce such programs in Uzbekistan as well. In particular, a special specialized project called TRACECA has been developed to restore the ancient Great Silk Road through Central Asia on the basis of modern technology. The project was launched in 1993 and initially cost a total of 28 million ECU (European Currency Unit).
It should be noted that the implementation of the TRACECA project through the implementation of technical assistance from the European Union under the TACIS program is promising for Uzbekistan in overcoming the inconveniences associated with transport communications [21]. Accordingly, the leadership of the Republic of Uzbekistan fully supports the ideas and proposals put forward in the framework of the project on major transport corridors and routes through Central Asia [22]. Because the project envisages the creation of a Transcaucasian highway leading The American Journal of Social Science and Education Innovations (ISSN -2689-100x) Published: February 28, 2021 | Pages: 260-268 Doi: https://doi.org/10.37547/tajssei/Volume03Issue02-42 IMPACT FACTOR 2021: 5. 857

OCLC -1121105668
to the Black Sea ports through the territory of Central Asia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia [23] The TACIS TRACECA program was created to establish a transport corridor connecting Central Asia with the Caucasus and Europe via the Caspian Sea, and it is planned to build roads in 9 directions. It addresses issues of road, rail, sea transport and trade. The implementation of this project has created ample opportunities for Uzbekistan to have free transit communications in the south -Iran, in the east -China, in the west -Europe [24]. Currently, 20 international routes pass through the country.
It is known that Uzbekistan is a world leader in cotton sales. The launch of the Tajen-Seraxs-Mashhad railway on May 13, 1996 on the new TRANS-ASIA route, which will take Central Asian countries to Italy through the ports of Iran and Turkey, and from there to European and world markets, was one of the significant achievements in this regard. This road, built with the direct participation of Uzbekistan, is more convenient than the Trans-Siberian highway and is about 1,500 km [26].
The launch of a transport route through Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and Azerbaijan to the Georgian ports of Poti and Batumi has created another convenient means for Uzbekistan, including other Central Asian countries, to enter the world market. These ports provided access to the world market via the Black Sea, by rail to Western Europe, through the Bosphorus to the Mediterranean, and from there to the Atlantic Ocean.
The effectiveness of the European Union's TACIS TRACECA program can be seen in the fact that by 1996, Uzbekistan's cooperation with foreign countries in foreign trade was 74%. The roads built under the TRACECA program serve cooperation and common development. This is evidenced by the fact that the volume of export-import cargo transported by Uzbekistan through the Persian Gulf on the route Transcaucasia (Tashkent-Ashgabat-Bander-Abbas) in 1996 amounted to 140 thousand tons, and the following year this figure reached 285 thousand tons [27]. After the opening of this road until September 1998, within the framework of cooperation with Uzbekistan in the implementation of exportimport relations 470 mln. 660,000 tons of consumer goods in the amount of US dollars were transported. In this sense, the development and implementation of transport and communication projects is one of the important strategic areas of cooperation between the European Union and the Republic of Uzbekistan [28].
When we observe the chronological analysis and dynamics of relations in the framework of this project, we can see that it is carried out on a consistent basis, except for cases of short stagnation in certain periods.
The attractiveness of the TRACECA corridor for the countries, the deepening of regional cooperation and the interest in the development of transport are growing year by year. This is evidenced by the fact that after the expiration of the TRACECA International Strategy until 2015, the European Union and other partner countries have developed a new program for the development of TRACECA countries on the Europe-Caucasus-Asia road.
The Uzbekistan side is also involved in the implementation of this ten-year strategy. This will help increase the competitiveness and attractiveness of this transport corridor, further liberalize foreign trade and reduce barriers to the movement of goods along the

CONCLUSION
In conclusion, it is worth noting the following: Firstly, the Republic of Uzbekistan has been on the path of development for almost thirty years. Although these years were counted as a very short period in numbers, they achieved great victories in practice. The economic reforms implemented in Uzbekistan are highly appreciated by the international community.
Secondly, in its foreign policy, Uzbekistan has made the development of cooperation with influential international organizations and developed countries a priority. Reforms in the development of trade, economic and investment relations, and especially in the field of economic liberalization, have been recognized by the world community, and Uzbekistan has been recognized as one of the ten fastest growing countries in the world.
Third, another priority of Uzbekistan's foreign policy is to develop cooperation with the European Union. Cooperation is carried out within the framework of the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement. Over the past thirty years, these relations have yielded positive results and achieved high results in education, culture, trade and investment.
Fourth, the development of bilateral and multilateral relations with its member states also has a positive impact on the development of cooperation between the Republic of Uzbekistan and the European Union. Countries such as France, Germany and Italy have a significant role to play in this.