ADDS STATEMENT FROM UZBEK FOREIGN MINISTRY, MINOR EDITS
By Burc Eruygur
ISTANBUL (AA) - Uzbekistan’s President Shavkat Mirziyoyev on Thursday discussed bilateral relations and cooperation in multiple formats with his Kazakh counterpart Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, who arrived on an official visit to Tashkent on Wednesday.
“The key topics of the talks were the issues of cardinal expansion of relations in political, trade, economic, energy, transport and logistics, agriculture, water and other areas,” said a statement from the Uzbek presidency, following a meeting between the two leaders in a narrow format.
The statement said that Mirziyoyev described Kazakhstan as “the closest and most reliable partner of Uzbekistan,” adding that “Uzbeks and Kazakhs are not just close neighbors, but brothers, connected by a common historical heritage, cultural and spiritual values.”
The statement further said that Mirziyoyev noted the volume of bilateral trade between the two countries has come close to $5 billion.
“There was also an extensive exchange of views on the regional and international agenda,” it added.
Another statement from the Uzbek presidency following the expanded meeting between Mirziyoyev and Tokayev read said that they signed two agreements, namely the “Treaty of Alliance” and an agreement on the demarcation of the state borders.
“At the end of the talks, the governments of the two countries were instructed to take strict control over the implementation of all the agreements reached and agree on an appropriate road map,” the statement said.
A statement by the Uzbek Foreign Ministry also noted that 15 other documents were signed at the governmental and ministerial level, including by departments and large companies from the two countries, providing for the "further expansion of multifaceted cooperation."
Separately, a statement from the Kazakh presidency said that Tokayev expressed his country’s interest in further strengthening cooperation with Uzbekistan.
“Our countries with a common history and destiny have common goals and development prospects. Therefore, I attach special importance to today's visit. I am confident that we will take our relations to a qualitatively new level. The stronger and more successful the cooperation between our countries, the more stable the situation in Central Asia will be,” Tokayev said, according to the statement.
It also confirmed the two leaders discussed key issues of the strategic partnership between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, paying “special attention to expanding cooperation in the political, trade, economic, cultural and humanitarian spheres.”
"The leaders of the two states also agreed to establish the Supreme Interstate Council and the Inter-Parliamentary Council, which will further strengthen the political platform for bilateral cooperation," the Kazakhstan presidency said.