OREANDA-NEWS. December 14, 2012. During his current visit to Uzbekistan, Dmitry Kozak attended a regular session of the Uzbek –Russian Intergovernmental Commission on Economic Cooperation.

Greeting the guest, the head of our state noted the Commission is designed to address current issues of economic relations and their development, facilitating at the same time an environment more conducive for cooperation.

At the talks that took place during the June 2012 visit of Russia’s President to Uzbekistan, Islam Karimov and Vladimir Putin expressed interest in cardinal diversification of trade turnover and expansion of the range of investment cooperation. Those negotiations produced a declaration on the enhancement of strategic partnership between the Republic of Uzbekistan and the Russian Federation which defined prospective dimensions of interaction on the new level.

Russia is currently one of Uzbekistan’s major trade and economic partners. A persistent growth in trade has been on the go between our two nations. For instance, the figures on this front reached 6.668 billion US dollars in 2011, while this year they made it 5.580 billion from January through September.

Uzbekistan and Russia have been steadfast in advancing investment cooperation. Currently, 858 enterprises with Russian capital are operating in Uzbekistan, and 106 Russian companies have their representative offices accredited in our country.

The hydrocarbon sector has been a crucial component of economic cooperation and the one extensive in scope. In particular, a number of major projects have been in progress with Lukoil and Gazprom aimed at the development of oil and gas deposits across Uzbekistan.

During the negotiations at the Oqsaroy, the sides exchanged views on prospective strides toward further enlargement of economic interaction.

Dmitry Kozak expressed sincere gratitude to the head of our state for a warm welcome and stressed Russia’s willingness to enhance its relations with Uzbekistan in the trade-economic and investment spheres.