Greeting the guest, the head of our state noted that the current visit by a prominent PRC delegation is suggestive of the mounting interest of the two sides in augmenting the mutually advantageous trade and economic relations.

The Declaration on Strategic Partnership signed during President Islam Karimov’s June 2012 visit to China has come to be another important stride toward expansion of bilateral cooperation. Quite telling in this respect was the package of documents envisaging the execution of over thirty investment projects for the sum total of more than US$5.3 billion approved during the highest-level talks.

A whole range of promising joint schemes in hydrocarbon sector have been currently underway in Uzbekistan. Works are in progress to boost the capacities of Dehkanabad Potash Manure Plant and Kungrad Soda Plant.

Uzbek natural gas supply to the PRC was launched in August 2012. The construction and commissioning of the third string of Uzbekistan-China gas pipeline is to help increase considerably the volumes of natural gas export and transit from Central Asia to China.

Along with the rewarding partnership in the development of alternative energy sources, the creation of Hi-Tech Industrial Park in Uzbekistan with the participation of Chinese companies constitutes another vital component of prolific cooperation.

Dynamic has been the growth in financial and technical interaction, within which the composite loan portfolio under the aegis of China Development Bank and Export-Import Bank has reached US$4.5 billion.

Perfection of transport communications is under a special priority of bilateral economic relations. In line with deals reached at the highest level, a cargo air communication linking Navoi and Tianjin has been launched recently. In addition, airliners are projected to fly to Shanghai and Guangzhou. Furthermore, regular passenger flights between Tashkent and Urumqi have been on track since July.

In the first half of 2012, trade turnover between Uzbekistan and the PRC has grown by 44.5% to reach US$1.5 billion.

At the meeting, Hui Liangyu has expressed keen gratitude to the head of our state for a warm welcome and confirmed the Chinese government’s interest in bolstering its multilayered cooperation with Uzbekistan. The PRC official said in particular that the US$535 million worth documents signed within the current visit are set to further buttress the economic interaction between our two nations.

Other issues of shared interest have also been discussed during the conversation at the Oqsaroy.