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Belarus proposed to Uzbekistan to increase trade turnover and implement new joint projects. The parties discussed opportunities to deepen interaction in the fields of trade, interregional cooperation, tourism, and medicine.

According to information released by the Belarusian House of Representatives, the meeting took place between the Chairman of the Belarusian House of Representatives, Igor Sergeenko, and the representative of Uzbekistan in Belarus, Nuriddin Mamajonov. During this meeting, it was stated that there are additional opportunities to increase mutual trade and carry out new cooperative initiatives.

Sergeenko emphasized that Uzbekistan's accession to the agreement on free trade in services within the CIS, as well as investment implementation, can serve as an incentive for launching new joint projects.

The parties expressed their intention to expand interregional partnership. In particular, Uzbekistan views the Vitebsk region as a promising area for cooperation, where long-term initiatives and joint economic projects are planned to be implemented.

In addition, the meeting also discussed the fields of tourism and healthcare. Belarus announced its readiness to share experience in the field of sanatorium and resort services and medical scientific and practical centers with Uzbekistan.

Sergeenko also suggested activating ties between parliaments, including cooperation between friendly groups and industry commissions.

It is worth noting that in July, Shavkat Mirziyoyev and Alexander Lukashenko signed a declaration on establishing a strategic partnership between Uzbekistan and Belarus.

The Senate of the Oliy Majlis of Uzbekistan approved a legislative act during a meeting held on August 8, aimed at reducing administrative pressure on businesses. This document introduces changes to the established procedure for suspending operations on commercial entities' bank accounts.

According to the current Tax Code, tax authorities have the right to suspend entrepreneurs' account operations for up to ten days. For imposing longer restrictions, an official court order is required.

The suspension of operations implies a complete halt of all outgoing transactions from the bank account and is used to ensure the fulfillment of tax obligations. However, as noted at the Senate meeting, the existing system generates a large number of lawsuits, even when the entrepreneur acknowledges the violation and does not contest the application of this measure.

According to the Supreme Court, between 2023 and 2025, economic courts reviewed over 960 thousand cases concerning the suspension of entrepreneurs' bank accounts. In 95% of these cases, the tax authorities' applications were granted. In the remaining 5%, rejections often occurred because the taxpayer had managed to rectify the violation before the case was heard.

Senator Erkin Gadoyev, presenting the report, emphasized that despite the possibility of lifting restrictions by the tax authority after fulfilling legal requirements, cases still have to be transferred to court, even if the entrepreneur has not filed objections.

The proposed law provides for separating the procedure depending on whether the entrepreneur agrees with the tax violation. If the entrepreneur admits the violation and does not object, the tax authority can independently suspend operations on their accounts, and subsequently cancel this restriction after the problem is resolved.

If there is disagreement with the tax authority's decision, the suspension of operations is possible only by court decision. Furthermore, upon receiving an objection from the taxpayer, the tax authority must apply to the court within three days. Along with this application, it must provide the court with the entrepreneur's objections, evidence of the violation committed, and confirmation of sending the relevant notification to the taxpayer.

If the court finds the taxpayer's arguments valid or determines that the violation has already been corrected, the account suspension must be lifted on the day the court decision enters into legal force.

During the session, the Senate stated that these changes are intended to reduce both temporary and financial costs for businesses, as well as decrease the number of cases sent by tax authorities to economic courts.

The head of Embassy Office Parks REIT expressed confidence in the demand for office space and announced plans to acquire 10–12 million square feet of land over the next three to four years to expand its portfolio and develop its business.

Embassy REIT owns and manages a portfolio of over 52 million square feet of office space located in cities such as Bangalore, Mumbai, Pune, Delhi-NCR, and Chennai.

In an interview with PTI, Embassy REIT CEO Amit Shetty emphasized that the demand for office space remains high despite global uncertainty. He noted that foreign companies are actively leasing premium office spaces to establish Global Capability Centers (GCCs) in major cities. The coworking segment is also performing well due to high demand for managed flexible workspaces.

To meet growing demand, the company is constructing 6.2 million square feet of office space with a total value of 3,500 crore rupees. Furthermore, the company is considering inorganic growth.

Shetty stated that they are looking into acquiring properties in five to six of the country's largest cities. They have a plan to acquire about 10–12 million square feet from third parties, as well as from a sponsor group with whom they have close cooperation. The company is valuing these properties for acquisition and hopes to close several deals in the current fiscal year. He added that the company has sufficient debt capacity to finance purchases after finalizing any deal.

Recently, Embassy Office Parks REIT reported a 17% year-on-year increase in Net Operating Income (NOI) to 1,020 crore rupees for the quarter ending in June. Revenue from operations grew by 17% year-on-year to 1,241 crore rupees in the first quarter of the current fiscal year. The company announced a distribution of 598 crore rupees, or 6.31 rupees per unit, for unit holders for the April-June 2026-27 fiscal year.

During the quarter ending in June, 1.3 million square feet of office space was leased, of which 0.7 million square feet were new leased areas. Shetty noted that GCCs continue to be the main driver of demand, accounting for 81% of quarterly leases, while AI-related companies contributed to 21% of new leased areas. This reflects the increasing depth and quality of the Indian office market, where AI-driven economy companies choose our campuses as platforms for growth.

Embassy REIT is supported by the real estate developer Embassy Group, based in Bangalore, which has two other public entities—Embassy Developments and WeWork India. In addition to office assets, the Embassy REIT portfolio includes strategic amenities such as five operational business hotels, two hotels under development, and a 100 MW solar power plant that provides renewable energy to tenants.