OREANDA-NEWS. March 22, 2010. President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev paid an official visit to Uzbekistan on 16-17 March.

The official welcoming ceremony of the President of Kazakhstan was held at Kuksaroy residence on 17 March. The guard of honor was lined up in the honor of the high guest and state anthems of the two states were played. Islam Karimov and Nursultan Nazarbayev reviewed the guard of honor.

At the face-to-face talks, the presidents discussed the present state and perspectives of bilateral relations, cooperation within international structures, as well as regional and international problems representing mutual interest.

The heads of two states considered the issues of security. They stressed the need for joint actions to fight and prevent such threats as terrorism, extremism, drug and arms smuggling, as well as proliferation of the weapons of mass destruction.

Islam Karimov touched upon the Afghan problem. Establishment of peace and stability in Afghanistan is one of the important conditions in strengthening security and stability in Central Asia and in other regions.

The presidents discussed bilateral and multilateral cooperation in information, energy and environmental security. At the same time, taking into consideration the importance of the food security, they considered issues of fighting plant pests and diseases, as well as smuggling of contaminated products.

Islam Karimov and Nursultan Nazarbayev continued the negotiations with participation of the official delegations of the two countries. The talks focused on the trade-economic and humanitarian cooperation.

Despite the ongoing financial and economic crisis in the world, the mutual trade between Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan continues increasing, the sides said. Since 2007, this figure has been reaching more than USD 1 billion annually. Notably, the share of raw materials has been decreasing, while the share of industrial production with high added value has been growing.

The trade and economic cooperation is one of the most important parts of the inter-state relations. Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan have a huge potential in this area, which has not been used fully. Both sides expressed interest in increasing bilateral trade and reconsidering the export and import structure.

Uzbekistan produced planes, cars, buses, trucks, agricultural machinery, cable products and construction materials, processes cotton and silk, grows fruit and melon and gourd. Kazakhstan has a demand for these products. At the same time, there is a wide field of activity for the Kazakh exporters on the Uzbek market.

Production, supply and transit of energy is another effective area of cooperation. In 2009, a gas pipeline was laid from Turkmenistan to China through Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, which is a bright example of successful multilateral cooperation. Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan possess large reserves of energy carriers. There are preconditions for the development of relations in this area.

Transport communications of the two sates allow increasing incomes from international transit. The use of automobile roads and railways as an interconnected and single system should be improved, and the coordinated activities to ensure free and fast movement of export-import and transit cargoes should be continued.

The two countries have been implementing the Economic Cooperation Program for 2006-2010 and the Economic Cooperation Strategy for 2007-2016. These documents outline prospective directions of bilateral cooperation in trade, water and energy complex, investments and finance, transport and communications, customs and innovations. Their implementation will allow increasing the bilateral trade several times.

The participants of the negotiations said direct links should be established between the businessmen, industrial enterprises and the regions of Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan.

The economic, scientific, technical and intellectual potential of the two countries serves as a reliable basis for the joint organization of high-tech enterprises and production of high added value goods. Considering that Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan have large resources of raw materials, the added value could be effectively increased, especially in textile, chemical and oil and gas sectors.

The scientific and economic potential of Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan opens good perspectives for efficient use of water resources, including melioration and irrigation. Development and introduction of water saving technologies and information exchange in this area remain very important. This, in turn, helps solve a number of environmental problems.

During the negotiations, the issues of rational use of water and energy resources in Central Asia were also considered. The sides stated that interests and security of all countries of the region should be taken into account during construction of hydrotechnical objects on the trans-boundary rivers.

The cultural and humanitarian cooperation between the two countries covers areas of science, education, culture and art, healthcare, tourism and sports. The Uzbek and Kazakh delegations exchanged views on boosting this cooperation.

On the results of negotiations, Islam Karimov and Nursultan Nazarbayev signed the Joint Communiquй of the Presidents. Other signed documents include Intergovernmental agreement on allocation of land for construction of diplomatic missions, the Program of cooperation between the foreign ministries for 2010-2011 and the Program of cultural and humanitarian cooperation for 2010-2012.

At the press conference that followed the negotiations, the presidents said the talks were constructive and open.

“Both Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan are interested in development of mutual cooperation,” Islam Karimov said. “In 2009, the bilateral trade turnover made up USD 1.3 billion, which is two times more than in 2006.”

“Uzbekistan is a large state in Central Asia and an ancient cultural center,” Nursultan Nazarbayev said. “Despite the world financial and economic crisis, in 2009, the economy of Uzbekistan developed stably. Our countries have large potential for expansion of mutual cooperation.”

In the second half of the day, presidents Islam Karimov and Nursultan Nazarbayev visited the Mustaqillik (Independence) Square in the center of Tashkent. The high guest laid flowers to the Monument of Independence and Humanism, which is a symbol of freedom, bright future and noble aspirations of the people.

The President of Kazakhstan also got acquainted with the recently built “Uzbekistan” International Forums Palace. He highly evaluated the wide-scale construction and improvement works held in Tashkent.

Nursultan Nazarbayev visited Hazrati Imam (Hastimom) complex, familiarized himself with Hazrati Imam mosque, Muyi Mubarek madrassah and the unique manuscript of the holy Koran – Usman Mushafi.