nCa Report
On 5-7 October 2023, President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev paid an official visit o the Russian Federation.
The visit began with a meeting with Tatarstan President Rustam Minnikhanov in Kazan.
On 6 October 2023, summit talks between President Shavkat Mirziyoyev and Russian President Vladimir Putin took place in Moscow.
On 4 October 2023, Uzbekistan and Russia signed $3.5 billion worth of agreements and contracts on the margins of the third Forum of Interregional Cooperation between the two countries in Kazan. The agreements cover a wide range of areas, including mutual supplies of demanded agricultural and industrial products, promising projects in the manufacturing industries, agricultural sector, transport and logistics, tourism, and medicine.
In total, following the summit talks in Moscow and during the Third Forum of Interregional Cooperation between Russia and Uzbekistan, 24 documents were signed, including a Joint statement on deepening relations of comprehensive strategic partnership and alliance.
Putin and Mirziyoyev’s joint press conference – key statements
Following the Russian-Uzbekistan summit talks, President Vladimir Putin and President Shavkat Mirziyoyev addressed the media.
Here are the key points from the statements of the Presidents of Russia and Uzbekistan:
- The adopted Joint Statement on Deepening the Strategic Partnership between Russia and Uzbekistan is aimed at giving an additional boost to joint work in the political, trade, investment, cultural and humanitarian fields, in the field of security, including biological and information.
- In 2022, the trade turnover increased by more than a quarter. In January-July2023, the trade turnover grew by almost 15%. Currently, 70% of the structure of export-import operations is accounted for industrial goods, products with high added value.
- Uzbekistan and Russia will form a permanent expert group to jointly analyze and identify new reserves for expanding trade.
- More than three thousand enterprises with Russian capital operate in the Uzbek market. In general, Russian investments have already exceeded $ 13 billion. Major projects are being implemented in the field of mechanical engineering, energy, gas chemical complex, metallurgy, textile, food and many other industries.
- About 100 joint economic projects worth a total of $28 billion are being worked out or are in the initial stage of implementation.
- The share of the ruble, for example, in bilateral commercial transactions reached 47.5% last year and continues to grow.
- For the first time in history, Russian gas will flow to Central Asia – to Uzbekistan. Uzbekistan, Russia, and Kazakhstan have worked and created conditions for the supply of Russian gas.
- Russian gas will be delivered to Uzbekistan in transit through Kazakhstan. Part of the gas will be supplied to Kazakhstan. This important, mutually beneficial project is designed to contribute to ensuring the energy security of both Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan.
- Russia and Uzbekistan have prospects for the development of cooperation in hydropower, as well as in the field of peaceful nuclear energy.
- The possibility of launching an ‘Atom’ electric vehicle in Uzbekistan, fully designed and developed in Russia, is being studied.
- In the field of countering traditional and new challenges and threats, primarily terrorism, extremism, organized crime and drug trafficking, Russia and Uzbekistan have agreed to deepen close cooperation through competent authorities and special services.
- Uzbekistan and Russia are developing a comprehensive cooperation program for the development of railway transport and infrastructure in Uzbekistan. The program will focus on the supply of Russian railway equipment and the localization of production on the territory of Uzbekistan.
- Currently, 63,000 Uzbek students are studying in Russian universities. There are already branches of 14 Russian universities operating in Uzbekistan.
- President Shavkat Mirziyoyev said: “Today, for the first time, we agreed with President Putin that we would adopt a roadmap on everything that we agreed on in both the restricted and expanded formats, and that we would both sign it and take it under strict control, because we discussed very serious issues. There is a foundation, and there are good prospects. When there is tough control, I believe there will be tangible results.”
- Mirziyoyev invited Putin to pay an official visit to Uzbekistan at any convenient time.
List of documents adopted and signed following the summit talks betweeen Mirziyoyev and Putin:
- Joint statement of the President of the Russian Federation V.V.Putin and the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Sh.M.Mirziyoyev on deepening relations of comprehensive strategic partnership and alliance
- Intergovernmental agreement on the supply of petroleum products by rail
- Intergovernmental agreement on expanding cooperation in the field of oil supplies
- Intergovernmental agreement on the establishment of the Consulate General of the Russian Federation in the city of Samarkand
- The program of cooperation between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Uzbekistan for 2024-2025.
- Agreement between the Federal Customs Service (Russian Federation) and the Customs Committee under the Ministry of Economy and Finance of the Republic of Uzbekistan on mutual recognition of the relevant institutions of the authorized economic operator
- Agreement between the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation and the Ministry of Investment, Industry and Trade of the Republic of Uzbekistan on cooperation on the implementation of the Agroexpress high-speed rail transportation project
- Memorandum of Understanding between the Federal Agency for Nationalities (Russian Federation) and the Committee on Interethnic Relations and Friendly Relations with Foreign Countries under the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Uzbekistan
- Agreement between the Federal state budgetary institution “National Research Center “Kurchatov Institute” and the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Innovation of the Republic of Uzbekistan on scientific and scientific-technical cooperation
- Joint Action Plan for the implementation of agreements in the field of higher education, science and innovation between the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation and the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Innovation of the Republic of Uzbekistan for 2023-2025
- Memorandum of Understanding on the development of cooperation between JSC “Russian Railways” and JSC “Uzbekistan Temir Yullari” (Uzbekistan Railways)
The full list of signed documents is available here: http://kremlin.ru/supplement/6015
The text of the Joint Statement on deepening the relations of comprehensive strategic partnership and alliance is available here: http://kremlin.ru/supplement/6013
///nCa, 7 October 2023 (photo credit – Kremlin, official website of President of Uzbekistan)
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