Presidents of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev and Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev held a head-to-head meeting at the Akorda residence in Astana, the press service of the Uzbek leader said.
At the beginning of the conversation, Shavkat Mirziyoyev emphasized that his state visit "had historical significance and was intended to upgrade the strategic partnership and alliance ties to a new level." This is evidenced by the holding of the first meeting of the Supreme Interstate Council.
Reportedly, on the eve of the visit, "a meeting of the Intergovernmental Commission, a business forum and a number of cultural events were held successfully."
A Program of Strategic Partnership and Alliance Ties until 2034 has been prepared, a Council is being set up under the leadership of the heads of the foreign ministries.
In recent years, the two-way trade between Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan has doubled, the number of joint ventures has increased fivefold, cargo transportation volumes are growing, and large cooperation projects are being implemented.
The counterparts pointed to the need to increase the effectiveness of contacts at the level of parliaments, governments, foreign policy and industry departments, to continue mutual support within the framework of international and regional platforms, including the UN, WTO, Consultative Meetings of the Heads of State of the region, and the Central Asia Plus formats.
The two leaders supported the establishment of an Interparliamentary Forum with the participation of both chambers of the parliaments of the two countries.
They focused on 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 the trade turnover to 10 billion dollars.
In order to develop industrial cooperation, a portfolio of new agreements and contracts worth $7 billion 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 province with the placement of enterprises.
The issue of creating a joint investment fund will be worked out in order to provide financial support for large projects.
They discussed the ways to ensure favorable conditions for transit cargo transportation, the construction of joint logistics complexes, and the development of automobile and railway routes between the two countries.
Priority attention was given to the speedy implementation of strategic regional projects, including the construction of the Kambarata HPP-1.
The presidents stated the importance of 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 in Samarkand this fall.
The heads of state also exchanged views on regional and international issues of mutual interest.
