President of Kazakhstan wraps up visit to Uzbekistan
15/06/2013 15:37
President of Kazakhstan wraps up visit to Uzbekistan
15/06/2013 15:37
Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbaev wrapped his an official meeting to Uzbekistan on 14 June 2013.
As reported earlier, invited by President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Islam Karimov, President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbaev arrived in our country on June 13 with official visit.
Major events of the visit took place on 14 June in the Kuksaroy residence. At the ceremony of official meeting of the high-ranking guest, the guard of honor lined up in esteem to the President of Kazakhstan. The two leaders rose to the podium to pay tribute to state anthems of Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. Then they walked along the guard of honor, paid tribute also to state flags of our two nations.
During talks in contracted format, the head of two states discussed extensively the key issues in Uzbek-Kazakh relations and the current developments in our region and the international arena.
The two sides noted the concurrence and similarity of postures and approaches of Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan in practically all discussed issues of bilateral and multilateral nature.
The parties stressed the high intensity of interstate dialogue and the reciprocal willingness toward further expansion and enhancement of comprehensive cooperation with an eye to national interests and the emerging realities of the contemporary world.
All the necessary prerequisites are created today for a multifaceted, fruitful and long-term cooperation owing to the firm political will, the profound mutual understanding, the robust agreement and normative base and the garnered expertise in constructive interaction.
In Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan is regarded as a time-tested reliable neighbour. Astana says it nurtures the same perspective toward our country, UzA reported.
The Uzbek and Kazakh peoples are bound with centuries-old ties, the common history, destiny, spiritual and cultural values, close languages and mentality. As it was underscored during the negotiations, the distinct historical heritage of our two peoples, along with their present and future is impossible to separate, and that we have always been close to each other and we will always need one another.
The evolution of relations between Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan acquires a particular importance not merely in the sense of their loner-term prospects, but also in terms of stability and prosperity of the entire Central Asia.
Deliberating on regional security, Islam Karimov and Nursultan Nazarbaev noted the interest of our two nations in the soonest resolution of conflict in Afghanistan and positively appraised the two countries’ input into the endeavours aimed at reviving Afghanistan’s economy.
The two sides exchanged views on the prospects of enhancing contacts and coordinating joint efforts within regional and international institutions. The consistent development of cooperation within the frameworks of multilateral organizations facilitates the consolidation of stability and creates opportunities for new directions of development at the regional and international levels. In this sense, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan say they are willing to keep with providing support to each other within international institutions like the United Nations, the Commonwealth of Independent States, and Shanghai Cooperation Organization.
In the meeting, the two sides agreed to continue with the Uzbek-Kazakh dialogue at the highest level in order to swap views on pressing issues of interaction in bilateral and multilateral formats, on joint search for mutually acceptable solutions for emerging problems, guided by vital interests of our two peoples.
The two Presidents stressed the significance of boosting the bilateral cooperation in countering terrorism, drug trafficking, religious extremism, separatism, transnational organized crime.
The two parties confirmed their unified stance toward a fair system of water use in Central Asia built on the principle of addressing all water and energy issues exclusively by way of rigorous adherence to universal norms of international law and with an eye to the interests of all the nations of the region. Any hydro-technical facilities projected for construction upstream the rivers must mandatorily undergo international impartial examination under the auspices of the United Nations and be agreed on by countries located downstream the Amudarya and Sirdarya.
The Presidents continued talks with the participation of official delegations of the two countries.
The foremost attention during the negotiations in extended format was drawn to issues in trade-economic and investment cooperation, to cultural and humanitarian interaction.
Kazakhstan is among Uzbekistan’s important trade partners, commerce with which is characterized by dynamic and sustainable growth. The mutual trade turnover in 2012 increased by 9.6% and amounted to US$2.752 billion. The indicator grew by 4.7% in January-April 2013 in comparison to the same period of last year, and reached US$920.4 million.
Priority significance has been attached to cooperation in the area of transport and transit shipping, where a key issue is the tariff and nontariff preferences in transit cargoes. In 2012, the transit shipping of Uzbek freights through Kazakhstan’s territory made up 1.474 million tons, while the Kazakh cargoes shipped through Uzbekistan amounted to 3.142 million tons.
Currently, 177 enterprises with the participation of Kazakh capital are operating in the Republic of Uzbekistan, including 149 joint ventures and 28 companies with a 100-percent foreign capital.
About 125 enterprises founded in Kazakhstan with the involvement of Uzbekistan residents are registered at the Ministry of Foreign Economic Relations, Investments and Trade of the Republic of Uzbekistan. Representative offices of a range of major Kazakh firms and companies are accredited at the Ministry.
Amid the on-going global financial and economic crisis, the interests of our two countries are served by the sustainable dynamics and increasing volumes of bilateral trade. This, as it was underlined during the talks, could be facilitated by the expansion of the range of mutual trade on the basis of a well-balanced system and scrupulous efforts to search for groups of in-demand goods of national manufacturers of the two countries. Notably, Uzbekistan’s export reserves for Kazakhstan have been considerable in cars and trucks, buses, agricultural machines, final textile produce, goods of electro-technical and light industry, construction materials, glass, polyethylene of high pressure as well as other products in demand in the Kazakh market. In its turn, Uzbekistan could import from Kazakhstan goods not produced by our enterprises and essential for the needs of our own economy, including metal-roll, ferroalloy, wood and wood materials.
The two sides are interested in refining the activities of the Joint Intergovernmental Commission for Bilateral Cooperation. This will help work out and implement mutually advantageous investment projects on the principles of longer-run cooperation. It will also help even greater enhance the relations in transport communications and transit, and augment interaction in shipping natural gas through the pipeline Turkmenistan-Uzbekistan-Kazakhstan-China.
Presidents Karimov and Nazarbaev deliberated on the expansion of cooperation in cultural-humanitarian area, which is built on the spiritual proximity and the ages-old traditional bonds.
The parties to negotiations noted the importance of the further development of cooperation in the cultural-humanitarian sphere. The sides agreed to energetically continue with reciprocal guest performances of music and drama theaters, artistic and creative groups and performers, exchange of expertise and specialists in sports and physical culture, promotion of national types of sports, ensuring the participation of athletes in international tournaments organized by the two countries, exchange students and faculty of education institutions in culture, science and arts.
Following the talks, Islam Karimov and Nursultan Nazarbaev signed the Agreement on Strategic Partnership between the Republic of Uzbekistan and the Republic of Kazakhstan. The penned documents include also that on cooperation between ministries of the interior and customs services. The Ministry of Culture and Sports of the Republic of Uzbekistan and the Ministry of Culture and Information of the Republic of Kazakhstan adopted the Program of Cooperation in Culture for 2013-2015.
The Agreement on Strategic Partnership between the Republic of Uzbekistan and the Republic of Kazakhstan stipulates core principles and priority directions of bilateral cooperation in political, trade and economic, transport and communications, water and energy, environmental, cultural and humanitarian, military-technical and other areas. The signatories verify their integrated and coordinated posture toward the development of a fair system of water use in Central Asia.
During the meeting with mass media representatives, the two Presidents stressed that the current visit confirmed again the ages-old historical, cultural and spiritual proximity of the Uzbek and Kazakh peoples, the high level of mutual confidence and respect of the two countries, and helped raise the relations between our two nations up to the level of strategic partnership.
The opening of the new building of Kazakhstan’s embassy in Uzbekistan and the monument to the great Kazakh poet and thinker Abai Kunanbaev has become the bright occasion of Nazarbaev’s visit to our country.
At the official opening ceremony, the heads of two states noted that a few years ago the two sides reached agreement on the construction of a new building for the Kazakh embassy in the historic center of Tashkent, in the street that bears the name of the founding father of the Kazakh literature – Abai. The realized idea of the Presidents has afforded a new appearance to this place and added to the beauty of our capital city. Tashkent has been enriched with another unique architectural pearl.
The Abai Kunanbaev monument has come to be another gleaming symbol of the community of values of the Uzbek and Kazakh peoples. There is scarcely a home in Uzbekistan that does not benefit from the great legacy of this intellectual, who used to write at the time that a sacred duty of the human being is to find and safeguard a true friend.
Observing the developments and dynamics of the Uzbek-Kazakh relations, one may paraphrase Abai to a certain extent: Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan have fulfilled this vital obligation and attained a true friend.
The peoples living with gracious and noble thoughts and aspirations are helped by the Almighty himself for their dreams to come true. This is confirmed also by the fact that by a kind distinctive mark, it began to rain during the opening of the new building for the Kazakh embassy and the Abai monument in Tashkent epitomizing the ages-old friendship of our two peoples. The rain has always been associated by our peoples with abundance and affluence.
Islam Karimov and Nursultan Nazarbaev traveled to the Marifat Markazi (Center of Enlightenment) built in Tashkent at the initiative of the head of our state. A state-of-the-art complex, the Marifat Markazi houses the Palace of Symposiums and the Alisher Navoi National Library of Uzbekistan and meets world standards for the arrangement of major international conferences, cultural and enlightenment events as well as information and library services. The landscape design of the terrain around this marvelous building amplifies the latter’s exceptional magnificence. The President of Kazakhstan gave a high acknowledgement to the architectural solution of this modern facility that combines the cutting-edge style and the national flavor.
The official visit by President of the Republic of Kazakhstan ended on this high note. Yet this means the end of merely one key historic event in the process of friendly and mutually advantageous, long-term relations. The interstate dialogue between Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan has always been and will keep being dynamic and regular.
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