The Uzbek president, Islam Karimov, was on hand for the ceremonial signing of agreements for a partnership. Among the plans is agreement for assembly of the Chevrolet Lacetti in Uzbekistan starting this year, using kits supplied by GM Daewoo. UzAvtoSanoat of Uzbekistan already builds Chevrolet’s Epica, Captiva and Tacuma models.

GM is giving UzAvtoSanoat distribution rights to the Chevrolets it builds throughout the Commonwealth of Independent States — parts of the former Soviet Union. The Uzbek automaker will also get technology and engineering support to help it become "integrated into GM’s global manufacturing network."

The Uzbek plant is located in Asaka, about 200 miles from the capital city, Tashkent, and has a manufacturing capacity of 250,000 units per year.

The companies had said last year that they were working toward a joint venture in 2008. It’s all part of GM’s large-scale expansion plan for Central and Eastern Europe, where 288,000 Chevrolets were sold in 2007.