Medvedev will hold talks with Karimov in the Uzbek leader’s hometown of Samarkand, the second largest city in Uzbekistan, on Thursday. Discussions will continue in a broader format in Tashkent, the country’s capital, on Friday.

The leaders are to discuss "boosting bilateral trade and economic cooperation, primarily in the energy sector, aircraft industry, transport and mining," the source said.

Russian-Uzbek trade in January-November 2008 exceeded US$3 billion, a 5.6% increase year-on-year. Russian exports to Uzbekistan in the same period amounted to over $1.8 billion.

Russian gas monopoly Gazprom and LUKoil, Russia’s largest private oil producer, as well as other companies are currently active in gas-rich Uzbekistan.

The talks will also focus on the global financial crisis, as well as joint efforts to counter terrorism, organized crime, and drug trafficking, the source added.

The agenda for the meeting will also include preparations for a Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit due to be held in Russia’s Urals city of Yekaterinburg this summer. The regional security bloc, widely seen as a counterweight to NATO’s influence in Eurasia, comprises Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan. The group primarily addresses security issues, but has recently moved to embrace economic and energy projects.