The Government of the Republic of Uzbekistan and the Government of the Republic of Turkey, hereinafter referred to as the «Parties»,

Recognizing the benefits of international cooperation in the field of plant quarantine and the control of quarantine pests that damage plants and plant products, as well as control and prevent their introduction and spread in the territories of their States,

Taking into account the rules and principles of the International Plant Protection Convention, signed in 1951 and emended in 1997 (hereinafter referred to as the Convention),

Have agreed on the following:

The Parties shall strengthen and develop further cooperation in the field of plant quarantine in order to ensure the phytosanitary safety of the territory of their States.

The competent authorities of the Parties (hereinafter — competent authorities) responsible for the implementation of this Agreement are:

For the Government of the Republic of Turkey — the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry of the Republic of Turkey;

For the Government of the Republic of Uzbekistan — the State Plants Quarantine Inspection under the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

The Parties shall cooperate in the following areas:

Taking the necessary measures to prevent the introduction of quarantine pests from the territory of the State of one Party into the territory of the State of the other Party on the import, export and transit of regulated articles;

Exchange of information on the emergence and spread of new quarantine pests, as well as measures of control and prevention of their spread on the territories of the States of the Parties;

Share the List of quarantine pests concerned for the States of the Parties as well as information about respective amendments and supplements;

Exchange of legal acts, phytosanitary rules and requirements of the States of the Parties regulating the import, export and transit of regulated articles, as well as inform each other about the respective amendments;

Provision of mutual scientific, technical and consultative assistance in undertaking activities to identify, localize and eliminate quarantine pests;

Analysis of problems in the field of plant quarantine arising at State border crossing points, as well as developing proposals for their solution;

Establishment of only such phytosanitary measures that are technically justified, commensurate with the phytosanitary risk and are formed on transparency, non-discrimination and prevention of disguised restriction on trade;

Improvement of professional skills of specialists and experts of the Parties in the field of plant quarantine.

Each consignment of plants and plant materials imported from the territory of the State of one Party into (through) the territory of the State of the other Party shall comply with the requirements of the importing Party and its legislation in the field of plant quarantine. Regulated articles exported to the territory of the State of the other Party shall be subject to quarantine inspection at the border point of the importing State.

The competent authorities shall take measures to conduct inspections and if necessary, laboratory analysis of regulated articles and their means of transportation, as well as other measures to prevent the transfer of quarantine pests on the territories of their States.

In case of detection of any quarantine pest in the importing regulated articles during the phytosanitary control at the border point, the importing Party has the right to return it to the exporting State or disinfect the cargo at the expense of its owner, and if it is impossible to return or disinfect the regulated articles, to destroy it in agreement with its owner. In each case, the importing Party shall notify the other Party directly in accordance with International Standard on Phytosanitary Measures (hereinafter — ISPM) No.13.

Each consignment of regulated articles imported from the territory of the State of one Party to (through) the territory of the other Party shall be accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate issued by the competent authority of the exporting Party in accordance with ISPM No. 12, that confirms the imported regulated article does not contain quarantine pests of concern for the State of the importing Party.

The Parties shall exchange copies of phytosanitary certificates within ten (10) days from the date of the conclusion of this Agreement. In case of any amendments and/or supplements to the phytosanitary certificate of either Party, this Party shall send the updated phytosanitary certificate to the other Party within ten (10) days.

The phytosanitary certificate accompanying the consignment of goods shall be in original and filled in English or State language of the Party that issued it. All corrections, deletions and illegibility of the text in the phytosanitary certificate deprive it of legal effect.

In case of re-export of the regulated article, the phytosanitary certificate for re-export shall be accompanied by an original phytosanitary certificate of the country of origin.

The availability of a phytosanitary certificate shall not exclude the right of the Parties to undertake phytosanitary control of regulated articles in accordance with the phytosanitary requirements of their States.

Transit of regulated articles goods through the territories of the Parties shall be permitted in accordance with laws of the State of the Party in the field of plant quarantine through which territory the regulated articles are transited, provided that the phytosanitary certificate of the country of origin is presented.

The entry points of imported, exported and transit for regulated articles across the state border of the States of the Parties shall be determined in accordance with the laws of their State.

Competent authorities shall notify each other of border posts in the territories of their States where phytosanitary control of imported regulated articles is carried out.

The Parties shall ensure the conformity of packaging materials of plant origin to ISPM No. 15 «Regulation of wood packaging material in international trade» and, if necessary, be subjected to fumigation or heat treatment.

During the export of regulated articles, new packaging free from quarantine pests should be used. Packaging and packaging materials must be free from soil. Hay, straw, chaff, sawdust, leaves and other plant materials cannot be used as packaging material. Vehicles used in the carriage of regulated articles should be thoroughly cleaned and, if necessary, decontaminated.

Planting materials imported to States of either Parties should be free from soil (except peat), soil-related matter and weeds.

The Parties may jointly inspect the places of production, processing, storage and packaging of regulated articles transported from the territory of the State of one Party to the territory of the State of the other Party, as well as to inspect the phytosanitary control system.

In order to identify specific cooperation activities and the terms of their implementation, the Parties may conclude a separate programme of cooperation.

The provisions of this Agreement shall not affect the rights and obligations of the Parties arising from other international treaties to which their States are party or arising from their membership in international organizations.

This Agreement may be amended and supplemented by mutual written consent of the Parties at any time. The amendments shall enter into force in accordance with the same legal procedure prescribed for this Agreement and shall form its integral part.

This Agreement shall enter into force on the day the competent authority of the Republic of Uzbekistan receives a notification through diplomatic channels from the competent authority of the Republic of Turkey on the completion of its internal legal procedures necessary for the concerned document to enter into force.

This Agreement is concluded for five (5) years and it shall be renewed automatically for successive periods of five (5) years, unless one of the Parties notifies the other in written form through diplomatic channels of its intention to terminate the Agreement six (6) months prior to its expiration.

Each Party may terminate this Agreement at any time by giving to the other Party a written notification to that effect through diplomatic channels. In this case, this Agreement shall be terminated three (3) months after the date of the receipt of the notification.

Done at Tashkent on March 1, 2021 and at Ankara on April 5 2021, in two originals, in Uzbek, Turkish and English languages, all texts being equally authentic.

In case of any divergence in interpretation of this Agreement, the English text shall prevail.