Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan intend to implement major joint projects

By Azernews

By Kamila Aliyeva

Political consultations between the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan were held in Tashkent.

The Kazakh delegation was headed by Deputy Foreign Minister Galymzhan Koishybayev, while the Uzbek delegation was led by Deputy Foreign Minister Dilshod Akhatov, the press service of the Kazakh Foreign Ministry reported.

During the talks, priority was given to the implementation of the agreements reached during the mutual state visits of Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev and Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev in 2017.

An exchange of views took place on topical issues of bilateral and multilateral cooperation in the political, trade, economic, cultural and humanitarian spheres. Various aspects of the regional and international agenda were discussed.

“Kazakhstan views Uzbekistan as a brother country, good neighbor, a key political and economic partner in Central Asia. The head of state attaches great importance to regional cooperation, in which Uzbekistan occupies a special place,” Koishybayev said.

The need to expand trade and economic cooperation, increase exports and imports of new types of products, in order to reach the goal set by the two presidents for achieving $ 5 billion in mutual trade by 2020, was pointed out.

The Uzbek diplomat noted that Kazakh-Uzbek cooperation today demonstrates high dynamics in all areas.

“We are proud of Kazakhstan's success in the world arena, your support is highly appreciated and we are ready to expand our cooperation on all bilateral issues. Uzbekistan attaches high priority to the development of relations with Kazakhstan,” Akhatov said.

During the negotiations, the parties reached an agreement to recommend to the state bodies of the two countries to continue studying the feasibility of implementing major joint projects in the promising sectors of the economy.

The successful implementation of activities within the current Year of Uzbekistan in Kazakhstan was noted. The course of preparation for the forthcoming Year of Kazakhstan in Uzbekistan in 2019 was discussed.

Regional aspects of interaction in the context of the agreements reached on the basis of the working (consultative) meeting of the heads of Central Asian states on March 15, 2018 in Astana were also considered.

Earlier this year, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan agreed to take further concerted measures to ensure the growth of trade turnover to $ 3 billion in 2018 and $ 5 billion by 2020. The countries also intend to increase the number of rail, bus and air communication between two states.

The trade turnover between the countries in 2017 amounted to $ 2 billion, which is 31.2 percent more compared to 2016. Exports from Kazakhstan to Uzbekistan in 2017 increased by 35 percent and totaled $ 1.3 billion. Imports to Kazakhstan from Uzbekistan increased by 25.1 percent and reached $ 735.2 million.  Over 200 companies with Kazakh capital currently operate in Uzbekistan.