Work on establishing a simplified customs line between Turkey and Azerbaijan has reached the final stage and the technical infrastructure work to start a pilot application has begun, Turkish Trade Minister Mehmet Muş said Tuesday.

Muş was speaking at a trilateral meeting between Turkey, Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan held in the Uzbek capital Tashkent that was attended by the foreign, trade and transportation ministers of the three countries.

The minister attended the meeting alongside Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu and Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Adil Karaismailoğlu.

Muş noted that the three countries have important combined commercial potential with a total gross domestic product of around $1 trillion and a population nearing 130 million among them.

He said the preferential trade agreements signed with Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan show the importance attributed to realizing this potential.

"I believe our commercial relations will enter a new era with the expanding of the scope of those agreements. Besides, the steps to be taken in order to reduce the bureaucratic obstacles at customs gates will facilitate the trade between our countries and contribute to the increase in trade volume."

Muş went on to say that Turkey is prioritizing establishing a simplified customs line that will be introduced with Azerbaijan soon and that the aim is to do the same with Uzbekistan.

"While Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan play an important role in our country's trade with Central Asia, Turkey also acts as a bridge in the trade of Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan with Europe, the Middle East and Africa," he said.

While stressing that the steps to improve the transportation area will contribute not only to the strengthening of the related countries’ economies but also to the regional economy, Muş drew attention to problems such as high toll fees faced by the transporters and restrictions on transit documents.

Stating that Turkey has a strong experience in this respect with its free zones, Muş said: "Our companies and investors continue their trade with the world in advantageous conditions from the free zones in our country.

"We are ready to share our experience in the field of free zones with Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan. The positive results to be obtained from our work will solve the problems faced by our business worlds in the field, and will enable our business representatives to establish closer relations."