Azernews.Az

By Kamila Aliyeva

Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev is on an official visit to Turkmenistan, the Turkmen Dovlet Khabarlary reported on March 6.

This is the first foreign visit of Mirziyoyev as the head of the state.

The desire of Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan to bring the intergovernmental dialogue to a higher level gives confidence that the Ashgabat meeting, on the basis of which it is planned to sign a package of documents, will be a prelude to a new phase of multi-aspect cooperation with huge potential, the Turkmen side reported.

The strategic character of the long-term partnership is successfully demonstrated by implemented projects, in particular, the laying of transnational gas pipeline Turkmenistan-Uzbekistan-Kazakhstan-China, which opened new horizons for the expansion of regional cooperation, as well as projects planned for implementation.

Both countries expressed their readiness to take an active part in the creation of an international corridor “Central Asia - Middle East” (Uzbekistan-Turkmenistan-Iran-Oman), the implementation of which will not only contribute to boosting trade and economic cooperation between the states of Central Asia, Near and Middle East, but also will become one of the most important factors for sustainable development in the region and in the entire world.

There are also favorable conditions for bilateral cooperation in the framework of other promising projects in the transport sector, including the creation of a corridor Uzbekistan-Turkmenistan-Caspian Sea-South Caucasus with access to the Black Sea ports of Georgia, Turkey, Romania and other countries.

One of the strategic directions of the partnership between the two countries is the sphere of energy. Turkmenistan supplies natural gas to China through Uzbekistan since 2009.

The joint Uzbek-Turkmen Commission on trade-economic, scientific-technical and cultural cooperation operates since 1996.

In 2015, the volume of bilateral trade between the two countries amounted to about $320 million, in January-August of 2016 - $177 million.

Uzbekistan exports fertilizers, construction materials, fruits and vegetables, electrical and mechanical equipment, vehicles, ferrous and non-ferrous metals, services to Turkmenistan. Turkmenistan supplies oil products, propylene polymers, sulfuric acid to Uzbekistan.

In Uzbekistan, 7 enterprises operate with the participation of the Turkmen side. In Turkmenistan, there are 6 enterprises with participation of residents of Uzbekistan.

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Kamila Aliyeva is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Kami_Aliyeva

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