Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov said on Wednesday Russia will increase investments in Uzbekistan’s economy, Itar-Tass reported.

"Russia will take a close approach to boosting relations with Uzbekistan. We are ready to increase investments," he told a meeting of the intergovernmental commission on trade and economic cooperation.

"Russia is ready to work here, mainly in agriculture, and extend credits for exports of Russia’s cars and equipment to Uzbekistan," he said.

"Russia’s oil and gas giants – Gazprom and Lukoil – have been operating in Uzbekistan for a long while and feel comfortable," he said.

He pointed out that over the past several months bilateral trade went up by 43 percent, but "it is not that very volume Russia and Uzbekistan should have."

"Our military and technical cooperation develops without problems and we are ready to step it up in the spirit of partnership as our presidents had agreed," Ivanov said.

"Over the past three years our relations entered a qualitatively new level. Bilateral trade is on the rise – in 2006 it exceeded US$3 billion and in 2007 we forecast US$5 billion," Uzbek Prime Minister Shavkat Mirziyayev said.

He believes that "a bilateral trade potential is bigger and more large-scale and the two countries have all prerequisites to boost it."

Mirziyayev named among the cooperation priorities the fuel and energy complex, telecommunications, transport, food industry, science and technologies and education.