Kazakh, Uzbek top officials mull key issues of bilateral relations
By Aynur Jafarova
The key issues of bilateral relations between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, the situation in Central Asia and around it, as well as the relevant international issues of mutual interest were high on the agenda of talks between Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev and his Uzbek counterpart Islam Karimov, who started an official visit to Astana on November 24.
The dialogue at the highest level is seen in both countries as an important factor for expanding the multifaceted cooperation and determining the priority areas of cooperation between Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan in the future, local media said.
The main events of the visit are scheduled for November 25.
The development of relations between Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan is particularly important not only in terms of their long-term prospects, but also for the stability and prosperity of Central Asia as a whole.
As part of the visit, the two Central Asian countries are planned to sign several bilateral intergovernmental agreements envisaging the development of a wide range of relations between them.
The legal base of bilateral cooperation has more than 100 intergovernmental and interdepartmental documents. Legal basis for relations between the two countries includes the Treaty of eternal friendship between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, which was concluded in 1998 and the Strategic Partnership Agreement, signed in June 2013 during the official visit of President Nazarbayev to Uzbekistan.
Position of the two sides also coincide in strengthening the nuclear nonproliferation regime, economic reconstruction of Afghanistan, the revival of the Aral Sea, the development of transit transport corridors and alternative energy sources and rational use of water and energy resources of the region in accordance with international law.
By late 2013, the trade turnover between the two countries increased by 14 percent, up to $3.2 billion, and by 25.7 percent, up to $3.1 billion in January-September of 2014.