Kazakh president to visit Uzbekistan in early June
By Aynur Jafarova
Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev will pay an official visit to the Uzbek capital Tashkent in early June.
Discussions of the preparations for the Kazakh president's visit took place during Kazakh Foreign Minister Yerlan Idrisov's meeting with his Uzbek counterpart Abdulaziz Kamilov in Tashkent.
"Today we are meeting to discuss a wide range of issues of cooperation, including preparations for the forthcoming visit of the President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev to Uzbekistan. Besides the general issues of the region, it is also planned to discuss ways of addressing new external challenges where we have similar positions," Kamilov said.
The Kazakh foreign minister was also received by Uzbek President Islam Karimov.
The President noted the importance of the upcoming meeting of the presidents of the two countries and supported the draft agreement on strategic partnership prepared by the two foreign ministries, the signing of which is planned during Nazarbayev's visit to Tashkent.
Speaking about the cooperation between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, Karimov said an open and intensive Uzbek-Kazakh dialogue and multifaceted cooperation meet the long-term interests of both countries and peoples.
It was stressed that Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan are interested in strengthening security and stability, sustainable development and prosperity of each other and the region.
The sides also exchanged views on important regional and international issues.
Regular interstate contacts and exchange of views on a wide range of bilateral and international issues contribute to further expansion of mutually beneficial cooperation.
The sides are closely cooperating within such global and regional organizations as the United Nations, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, the Commonwealth of Independent States, the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea and others.
Bilateral trade turnover exceeded $2.75 billion last year.