ASTANA — Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan inked milestone documents, officially opened branches of universities in Chirchik and Almaty and marked the arrival of a container train from Xian to Tashkent during President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev’s state visit to Kazakhstan on Aug. 8.
President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev with Shavkat Mirziyoyev. Photo credit: Akorda
Welcoming his Uzbek counterpart at the presidential residence, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev noted that Mirziyoyev’s visit will give impetus to the development of cooperation and alliance between the countries, reported Akorda press service.
“In recent years, the atmosphere of relations between our countries has changed significantly for the better. We will make every effort to fill our cooperation with concrete content. This visit is of great importance because we will sign documents that will determine specific areas of cooperation and alliance between our states,” Tokayev said.
Mirziyoyev thanked Tokayev for the warm welcome and emphasized the importance of this state visit to Kazakhstan.
Photo credit: Akorda
“Today’s visit is of historical significance. Our meeting will strengthen the centuries-old ties of friendship and good neighborliness between the two peoples, and will bring the relations of strategic partnership and alliance to a new level,” said Mirziyoyev.
During the meeting, the sides discussed prospects for strengthening political, trade and economic cooperation, transport and transit, investment, energy, agricultural, water, cultural and humanitarian spheres and industrial cooperation.
Kazakh-Uzbek Supreme Interstate Council Signs Key Bilateral Agreements
The talks continued at the first Supreme Interstate Council meeting of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. Tokayev reiterated that Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan signed a historic Treaty on Allied Relations last year. He announced that the Strategic Partnership and Alliance Program for the next 10 years was approved. He expressed confidence that these important documents would significantly enhance the development of bilateral relations.
According to Tokayev, strengthening cooperation in agriculture, mechanical engineering, energy, communications, and digitalization offers every opportunity to increase mutual trade turnover to $5 billion and double this figure in the near future. He reiterated the urgent need to launch the Central Asia International Center for Industrial Cooperation on the Kazakh-Uzbek border and deepen bilateral industrial cooperation.
“Today, we have nearly 70 joint projects worth over $3 billion, which employ at least 14,000 people. We are ready to deepen cooperation in this area and create comfortable conditions for business,” Tokayev said.
According to Tokayev, unique transit and transport advantages must be used, and measures must be developed to optimize tariffs, simplify administrative procedures and reduce cargo delivery times.
During the meeting, Tokayev and Mirziyoyev discussed questions of integrated and rational use of transboundary river water resources and cultural and humanitarian cooperation.
Following the meeting, Tokayev and Mirziyoyev signed a joint statement, along with resolutions from the Supreme Interstate Council on advancing Kazakh-Uzbek bilateral cooperation and approving the Regulation on the Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs.
During the Uzbek president’s state visit to Kazakhstan, the sides signed 12 documents, including an agreement on the regime of the Kazakh-Uzbek state border, an action plan for Cultural and Humanitarian Cooperation for 2024-2025, an agreement between the Health Ministries on cooperation, a memorandum of understanding on the establishment of the Kazakhstan-Uzbek Expert Council and others.
Tokayev awarded Mirziyoyev the Order of Altyn Kyran (Golden Eagle), Kazakhstan’s highest honor, recognizing him as a respected leader and influential statesman who has significantly contributed to enhancing the relationship between the two nations. Mirziyoyev expressed that the award reflects their shared efforts to fortify the long-standing friendship and cooperation between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, highlighting Kazakhstan as their most dependable and trusted partner.
