Azernews.Az

The governments of Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan signed a number of cooperation agreements during an official visit by Uzbek President Islam Karimov to Baku last Thursday.
The documents cover a wide range of fields including railway transport, exchange of information on taxation, information technologies, humanitarian aid, and environmental protection.
Karimov met with President Ilham Aliyev, which was followed by discussions between Azerbaijani and Uzbek delegations.
In a joint statement after the signing, President Aliyev said the Uzbek president`s visit was of great importance. "The results of this visit will play an exclusive role in further cooperation between the two countries."
Aliyev said Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan hold strong positions in their respective regions, which is an important factor in terms of regional collaboration.
He further underscored the significance of the signed documents, noting, "This will deepen further cooperation between our countries."
According to both presidents, the South Caucasus republic and the Central Asian state currently support each other within international organizations.
"We want peace to be established in the region and for the Armenia-Azerbaijan Upper (Nagorno) Garabagh conflict to find a solution within international legal norms," he said.
Aliyev also emphasized the importance of deepening economic relations with Uzbekistan.
President Karimov said he had detailed discussions on a broad range of issues with his Azerbaijani counterpart. The parties cited their having similar positions on most issues.
"We inked eight documents on inter-governmental levels. The signing of eight more agreements is an extremely important incentive to the development of our relations, which will lay a solid groundwork for the development of mutually beneficial joint projects. We came to a common view regarding the expanding interaction of South Caucasus and Central Asia," Karimov said.
He added that the well thought-out and pragmatic foreign policy pursued by President Aliyev has turned Azerbaijan into one of the leading logistics centers that links the East with West and the North and South.
Touching on the Garabagh problem, Karimov said Uzbekistan made it clear that "it has always supported, is supporting and will support a peaceful settlement to the conflict," with Azerbaijan`s territorial integrity being one of the key conditions.
"We believe that a solution offered by the Azerbaijani side is the most optimal in all senses. I am speaking for myself, but I am confident that my opinion is shared by all those who are objectively following the Garabagh problem," Karimov said.