19.11.2021

On November 19 the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev, at the invitation of the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin, arrived in Russia.

The top-level talks were held in the Moscow Kremlin.

Vladimir Putin has warmly greeted the President, once again congratulated him on his convincing victory in the last presidential elections and wished him success in his future activities.

«Uzbekistan is not just our closest neighbor, but also an ally – this is exactly how we treat Uzbekistan», - the President of Russia has noted. - This is a large regional country, which we are connected with a lot - both historically and today.

Today, 18% of the total trade turnover of Uzbekistan falls on Russia. The trade turnover is growing: despite the pandemic, last year it grew by more than 15%. This is a very good indicator that even in the most difficult times we interact, and we interact successfully.

And the current work - both in the regional format and in the national one - goes in all directions. This applies to the economy, humanitarian ties, and transport infrastructure. Here we have a very large space for joint work and, of course, we have something to talk about.

The Head of our state has thanked the President of Russia for the invitation and warm welcome.

«I especially want to note that in recent years there has been a breakthrough in our relations - we have never had such indicators. And, as you have mentioned, the trade turnover is growing: according to the outcomes of nine months, it is already a five billion, by the end of the year it will be seven billion. There has never been such a number in our relations.

The Intergovernmental Commission headed by the prime ministers is working very tangibly. You have supported it, and it is yielding very serious results. Before the visit, a lot of work has been done. Three large forums were held: the regional, educational and media forum.

If we talk about the results, we already have the projects for $14 billion under development today. This is also based on the outcomes of the interregional forum – when we have started it three years ago, we did not have anything like this. The result is progressively a notable one: the regions are interacting and this gives a very big impetus.

Today, I believe we have a good opportunity to discuss the interregional, bilateral, security issues, the issue of Afghanistan», - Shavkat Mirziyoyev said.

In general, the Presidents stated with great pleasure the high level of bilateral relations between the two states based on strategic partnership and alliance.

At the talks, a special attention was paid to the further expansion of trade, economic and investment cooperation.

In recent years, a real breakthrough has been achieved in these areas. The meetings of the Joint Commission at the level of Prime Ministers and the Intergovernmental Commission on Economic Cooperation are held regularly. A close cooperation between regions has been established. This year alone, more than 50 high-level mutual visits have been organized.

In 2020, the volume of mutual trade exceeded $5,6 billion, and in ten months of this year this figure reached $6 billion and is expected to come close to $7 billion by the end of the year.

Over the past four years, the number of enterprises with the participation of Russian capital in Uzbekistan has doubled and is now about three thousand.

Today, the volume of accumulated Russian investments in the economy of Uzbekistan exceeds $10 billion, and this figure continues to grow dynamically. Joint preparation of promising projects for 14 billion dollars is underway.

The Presidents have noted the importance of expanding investment cooperation covering almost all sectors of the economy.

The results of the II Forum of Interregional Cooperation, held on the eve of the visit of the President of Uzbekistan, will play a big role in this. Its practical outcomes were the new agreements and contracts in the fields of industry, energy, transport and pharmaceuticals, textile and food industries.

Shavkat Mirziyoyev has emphasized that there is still a huge reserve in the sectors of the economy for building up cooperation. In this regard, the prospects for developing cooperation in priority sectors were discussed.

The Leaders paid attention to the issues of expanding cultural and humanitarian cooperation.

It was pointed out that the Conference of Rectors was held in Bukhara this May, the Second Educational Forum was held in Moscow on November 16-17, as a result of which more than 35 agreements on the new areas of partnerships were adopted.

Today Uzbekistan is the leader in terms of the number of foreign branches of Russian universities. Their number has reached 15, with 12 opened up in the last 4 years alone.

A close cooperation has also been established in the sphere of healthcare. With the support of Russian partners in Uzbekistan, the production of the Sputnik V vaccine was organized. The work was completed on the opening of a branch of the Pirogov Russian National Research Medical University in Tashkent.

The Presidents also exchanged views on the regional and international agenda of mutual interest.

The importance of continuing the bilateral consultations between the foreign and defense ministries of our countries was emphasized. An exchange of views took place on the regional security and the situation in Afghanistan.

The Russian side has welcomed the important steps taken by Uzbekistan to promote the peace process in Afghanistan.

The Leaders have reaffirmed their readiness for further cooperation in the framework of the UN, the CIS, the SCO and other international structures.

At the end of the conversation, which took place in a sincere and friendly atmosphere, the parties have confirmed their commitment to further strengthening the strategic partnership and alliance between Uzbekistan and Russia.

Following the talks, the Presidents adopted a Joint Statement on Cooperation in the Field of International Information Security. As a whole, 18 bilateral documents were signed during the visit.