Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- The head of Tatarstan Rustam Minnikhanov visited Uzbekistan on a working visit. As part of the visit, he visited Surkhandarya region.

The head of Tatarstan met with the Khokim of Surkhandarya region, Ulugbek Kosimov. Minnikhanov expressed gratitude for the warm welcome and congratulated him on the onset of the holy month of Ramadan.

It was noted that trade turnover between Tatarstan and Uzbekistan over the past year increased by 27%, reaching US$370 million. Several leading enterprises of Tatarstan are actively cooperating with Uzbek partners. Minnikhanov emphasized Tatarstan’s openness to investment and its role as an entry point for foreign companies into the Russian market.

The parties also discussed the supply of products from Tatarstan manufacturers and the use of the opportunities of the Airit free trade zone.

On behalf of Minnikhanov, a delegation of enterprises will be formed to study the potential of this area, after which a road map will be prepared.

Special words of gratitude were expressed for the support of the Tatar community in the Surkhandarya region, where about 7 thousand Tatars live.

As part of his visit to Surkhandarya region, Rustam Minnikhanov visited several local industries. One of them is the carpet production of Termez National Carpets LLC, which produces up to 2.2 million square meters of products, which are exported to neighboring countries.

The head of Tatarstan also got acquainted with the production of growing herbs, vegetables and fruits at the Leto LLC enterprise. The company has 30 hectares of greenhouses, 200 hectares of open soil and a logistics complex. Leto LLC is also part of a group of companies engaged in growing greens in the Laishevsky district of Tatarstan and supplying retail chains in the Volga region and the Urals.