Russian President Vladimir Putin was on an official visit to Uzbekistan on May 26 and 27 at the invitation of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev
Tashkent
Russian President Vladimir Putin was on an official visit to Uzbekistan on May 26 and 27 at the invitation of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev. What did the heads of both countries discuss during their talks in Tashkent?
Moscow and Tashkent are actively working on issues related to the construction of a nuclear power plant in Uzbekistan using innovative small modular reactors. This project has been a focus of bilateral cooperation between the two countries.
The parties noted that “the parameters of the general contract for this facility are currently being agreed upon.”
Back in 2017, the state corporation “Rosatom” announced plans to build a nuclear power plant in Uzbekistan. As Alexey Likhachev, the general director of “Rosatom,” stated at that time, the plant would include two modern 3+ generation power units with VVER-1200 reactors. The installed capacity of each would be up to 1.2 GW.
In October 2018, the presidents of Russia and Uzbekistan, Vladimir Putin and Shavkat Mirziyoyev, signed an intergovernmental agreement on the construction of a nuclear power plant in the Navoi region of the republic.
Back in 2017, the state corporation “Rosatom” announced plans to build a nuclear power plant in Uzbekistan
To illustrate, a model of the future nuclear power plant, based on the operating Novovoronezh NPP-2, was created.
According to estimates provided by Yuri Ushakov, an aide to the Russian leader, the project cost could be around $11 billion, and the first power unit was expected to be commissioned in 2028.
Moscow and Tashkent also considered the construction of a copper processing plant and a gas chemical complex in Uzbekistan. The countries also intend to create a metallurgical cluster at the Tebinbulak iron ore deposit.
The implementation of these initiatives will not only strengthen the strategic partnership between the two countries in the field of peaceful nuclear energy but also provide a significant impetus for the further development of bilateral economic cooperation overall.
During the trip, Vladimir Putin will also participate in the first meeting of the Council of Regions of Russia and Uzbekistan.
Uzbekistan and Russia developed new projects in various fields
In Tashkent, at the Kuksaroy residence, a meeting was held between the presidents of Uzbekistan, Shavkat Mirziyoyev, and Russia, Vladimir Putin, in a narrow format. The sides discussed issues related to the further development and deepening of Uzbek-Russian relations and alliance, the press service of the President of Uzbekistan reports.
Mirziyoyev, welcoming Putin, mentioned that as part of the preparation for the current visit, meetings of parliamentarians, political consultations, the Innoprom exhibition, conferences of rectors of leading engineering universities, and heads of authoritative medical institutions of both countries had taken place.
“Your state visit can rightfully be called historical. It marks the beginning of a new stage in the comprehensive strategic partnership and alliance between our countries,” emphasized Shavkat Mirziyoyev.
It was noted that the volumes of trade turnover and Russian investments in Uzbekistan are increasing: the portfolio of joint projects amounted to $45 billion.
“I am very grateful that one of your first visits was to Uzbekistan. This is a great respect for Uzbekistan and the multinational people of Uzbekistan. I am very grateful to you for this. We will go through all the issues on the agenda. And we have signed with you for the first time a ‘roadmap’ of 63 points. I must say that this is being implemented in reality, there is real progress,” Shavkat Mirziyoyev was quoted as saying by Kremlin.ru.
Vladimir Putin noted that a representative delegation had arrived in Uzbekistan, “and not by chance: this emphasizes the special nature of our strategic partnership and allied relations.”
“The pace of development of economic ties is truly very impressive. You said that, according to your data, somewhere around 30% over the past year. According to our statistics, it’s slightly less. But overall, we occupy 15.5% in your trade turnover – not a bad result. And I am sure there will be more, considering the pace: for the first quarter of this year, according to our statistics, it’s over 20%,” explained Putin.
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During the meeting of the delegations in expanded format, the parties agreed to continue intensive contacts at the level of parliaments, governments, ministries, departments, regions, public, expert, and business circles.
It was noted that over the past 7 years, trade turnover between the countries has increased by 2.5 times. The parties agreed on a new target indicator – to reach trade volumes of $30 billion in the near future.
To assist in achieving this goal, a full-fledged trade representation of Uzbekistan will be launched in Russia.
“At the current summit, new projects in industrial cooperation in energy, metallurgy, petrochemistry, mechanical engineering, mining, agriculture, logistics, pharmaceuticals, artificial intelligence, and many other areas totaling over $20 billion have been developed. To promote such projects, a Joint Investment Platform is being launched,” the press service of the Uzbek president reported.
As a result of the meetings, both in narrow and expanded formats, agreements were reached:
– On the opening of branches of the Bauman Moscow State Technical University and the All-Russian Academy of Foreign Trade in Uzbekistan.
– On the launch of a Joint Investment Platform to support joint projects of leading enterprises.
– On the modernization of the gas transportation system, increasing the volumes of gas, oil, and petroleum products supplies, and implementing projects for hydrocarbon processing.
– On the implementation of a project to build a small nuclear power plant in Uzbekistan.
– To continue intensive contacts at the level of parliaments, governments, ministries, departments, regions, public, expert, and business circles;
– To continue regular political consultations, close interaction within the framework of international and regional structures, including the UN, CIS, SCO, and other multilateral platforms;
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Courtesy: Central Asian Light (Posted on May 27, 2024)
