Speaking at a briefing, the President of Uzbekistan underscored the significance of Vladimir Putin’s visit – one of his first foreign visits after his re-election as President of the Russian Federation – as a testament to the special regard and respect for Uzbekistan and its multinational people. This visit, he emphasized, is a clear affirmation of the current high level of bilateral cooperation and a shared unwavering commitment to further deepen relations between Uzbekistan and Russia.
“I would like to stress that the state visit of the President of Russia is, without a doubt, a historical event that heralds the dawn of a new era in our multifaceted cooperation”, Shavkat Mirziyoyev said.
The President of Uzbekistan emphasized that great preparations had been made for the current summit. Parliamentarian meetings, political consultations, and mutual visits of government delegations of the two countries were fruitful.
In April, Tashkent hosted the International Exhibition “Innoprom”. Hundreds of new cooperation projects were agreed upon.
This month, the leaders of all regions of Uzbekistan visited partners in the regions of Russia. The day before, productive conferences of rectors of leading engineering and technical universities and heads of reputable medical institutions of the two countries were held. These days, the events of the Russian Art Week continue in Tashkent.
The results of today’s negotiations, which took place in a traditionally open, constructive, and friendly atmosphere, were noted with great satisfaction.
The leaders engaged in comprehensive discussions, covering the entire range of current issues on the bilateral agenda, which included listening to reports from delegation members on key areas and exchanging views on international and regional issues.
Particular attention was paid to increasing practical interaction in the trade and economic sphere. The parties agreed on the importance of further increasing trade turnover. A target of $30 billion has been set.
The countries have made serious progress in industrial cooperation. During the talks, specific projects in energy, petrochemistry, metallurgy, mechanical engineering, agriculture, logistics, and innovative industries were considered.
Evidence of this is that more than 3,000 joint ventures are successfully operating in Uzbekistan today. In addition, the project portfolio is about $45 billion.
It was emphasized that agreements were signed on new projects worth more than $20 billion during the current visit.
The President of Uzbekistan announced the imminent launch of a joint Investment platform to promote cooperation.
It was noted that cooperation between regions is becoming a fundamental driver of economic and humanitarian cooperation between Uzbekistan and Russia.
Agreements have been reached to transform the Forum of Regions into the Council of Regions of the two countries, chaired by the heads of state. The first meeting of this Council will take place today.
The heads of state focused on building strategic interaction in the energy sector.
Thus, last year, the supply of Russian natural gas to Uzbekistan began. During the current negotiations, issues of increasing the volume of gas, oil, and petroleum supplies, implementing projects for modernizing infrastructure, and deep processing of hydrocarbons based on Uzbekistan companies were discussed.
An agreement was signed to implement a project to construct a low-power nuclear power plant in Uzbekistan.
“Almost all leading countries in the world ensure their energy security and sustainable development through nuclear energy. Having large reserves of uranium and exporting it to third countries, this project is vital for us if we think about the prospects for entering a new stage of development of Uzbekistan”, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev emphasized.
Specific plans have been outlined to deepen cooperation in agriculture, transport and logistics, digitalization, and artificial intelligence.
Active contacts and exchanges will continue in culture, art, tourism, science, education, healthcare, youth, and sports. Today, many agreements in these priority areas have been adopted.
Uzbekistan will host a series of major Russian cultural events this year, including Cinema Days. Uzbekistan Culture Days, exhibitions, and tours of Uzbekistan theaters will take place in Russia.
The leaders noted the importance of developing cooperation in education and healthcare. They supported ongoing dialogue and productive partnerships between the two countries’ leading universities and medical institutions.
Joint work on training engineering personnel has begun. The Bauman Moscow State Technical University branch in Tashkent, established for these purposes, will become the fifteenth branch of leading Russian universities operating in Uzbekistan.
Cooperation in migration was a separate issue of the negotiations. An agreement was reached on new effective mechanisms of interaction in this area.
The importance of continuing regular consultations between foreign policy agencies and deepening dialogue within the framework of regional and international structures – the United Nations, the Commonwealth of Independent States, and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization – was confirmed.
The focus of Uzbekistan and Russia will remain on issues of close interaction between competent authorities and special services to counter traditional and new challenges and threats, primarily terrorism, extremism, organized crime, and drug trafficking.
In conclusion, the Leader of Uzbekistan expressed deep satisfaction with the results of the negotiations and thanked his Russian colleague for arriving in Uzbekistan with a representative delegation consisting of the heads of all significant ministries, agencies, and companies in Russia.
Confidence was expressed that the substantive meetings and fruitful results of the state visit of the President of Russia to Uzbekistan will serve to strengthen friendship, comprehensive strategic partnership, and alliance and will open a new chapter in interstate interaction.
