The Presidents of Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan confirmed their commitment to further strengthening strategic partnership and alliance

A meeting of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev and the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev in a narrow format was held at the ‘‘Akorda’’ residence, the press service of the head of our state reports.

The current issues of Uzbek-Kazakh multifaceted cooperation were discussed.

At the beginning of the conversation, the head of our state, having thanked for the warm welcome, emphasized that the current state visit is of historical significance and is intended to bring the relations of strategic partnership and alliance to a qualitatively new level.

This is evidenced by the holding of the first meeting of the Supreme Interstate Council.

It was noted with satisfaction that on the eve of the visit, a meeting of the Intergovernmental Commission, a business forum and a number of cultural events were successfully held. The Program of Strategic Partnership and Alliance until 2034 has been prepared, a Council is being created under the leadership of the heads of the foreign policy departments.

In recent years, trade turnover has doubled, the number of joint ventures has increased fivefold, cargo transportation volumes are growing, and large cooperation projects are being implemented.

The need to increase the effectiveness of contacts at the level of parliaments, governments, foreign policy and industry departments, and to continue mutual support within the framework of international and regional platforms, including the United Nations, the WTO, the Consultative Meetings of the Heads of State of the region, and the “Central Asia Plus” formats was noted.

The need for developing close cooperation in the field of youth policy and the formation of an information field was emphasized. An agreement was reached to prepare a comprehensive Cooperation Program in this area.

The establishment of an Interparliamentary Forum with the participation of both chambers of the parliaments of the two countries was supported.

Particular attention was paid to further increasing the volume of trade, primarily through the mutual formation of markets and the substitution of imports from third countries.

In this context, the governments were instructed to adopt a separate program by the end of the month to bring trade turnover to 10 billion dollars.

In order to develop industrial cooperation, a portfolio of new agreements and contracts worth 7 billion dollars has been developed for the current summit.

Among them are projects in the fields of energy, transport and logistics, metallurgy, textile, agriculture and construction, as well as between regions.

An agreement was reached to accelerate the construction of the International Center for Industrial Cooperation in the Syrdarya Region with the placement of enterprises.

In order to provide financial support for large projects, the issue of creating a Joint Investment Fund will be worked out.

The issues of ensuring favorable conditions for transit cargo transportation, the construction of joint logistics complexes, and the development of automobile and railway routes between the two countries were discussed.

Priority attention was given to the earliest practical implementation of strategic regional projects, including the construction of the Kambarata HPP-1.

The presidents stated the importance of further expanding interregional cooperation. An agreement was reached to transform the Forum of Regions into the Council of Heads of Regions of the two countries and hold its first meeting this fall in Samarkand.

The heads of state also exchanged views on regional and international issues of mutual interest.