Rustam Minnikhanov meets Chairman of Jokargy Kenes of the Republic of Karakalpakstan Musa Erniyazov

On September 25, at the Kazan Kremlin, at his meeting with Chairman of Jokargy Kenes (the parliament) of the Republic of Karakalpakstan Musa Erniyazov, Tatarstan President Rustam Minnikhanov said that Tatarstan and Karakalpakstan, which is part of Uzbekistan, need to identify promising areas for cooperation.

Tatarstan President thanked the delegation of Karakalpakstan for paying a visit to Kazan and the interest shown to Tatarstan. "We have always attached great importance to the development of contacts with Uzbekistan as part of Russian-Uzbek relations. And we would be glad to expand mutually beneficial relations," he said.

Minnikhanov noted that President Vladimir Putin is expected to visit Uzbekistan in the middle of October and that the republic has high expectations for it. He added that he also plans to visit this country.

"I am convinced that our capitals must cooperate. We need to consider trade, cultural, tourist relations. We will be glad to increase the number of Uzbek students in Kazan universities. Moreover, mutual supply of products is possible. I would like to note that last year the trade turnover between Tatarstan and Uzbekistan increased,” Tatarstan President emphasized.

"We need to develop various contacts, identify promising areas for joint work. For example, KAMAZ Automaker has joined the Uzbek projects. You have a strong oil and gas industry and we need to study this area. Besides, it is important to strengthen inter-parliamentary relations. There are many opportunities for cooperation, and we are open for interaction," he continued.

Minnikhanov also mentioned the direct flights between Kazan and Tashkent, Fergana and Samarkand are available. "They are in demand, as many Tatars live in Uzbekistan," he added.

Tatarstan President reminded that an annual international economic summit "Kazan - Russia: Islamic World: KazanSummit" is held in Kazan and invited Musa Erniyazov to take part in this event in 2019.

Chairman Jokargy Kenes of Karakalpakstan thanked Minnikhanov for the invitation to the capital of Tatarstan. According to him, today the delegation has visited several facilities in Kazan.

"We have got acquainted with the city economy, which is very interesting. Urban management, public services are one of the priority issues in Uzbekistan. We have learned how they are solved in Kazan and what support is provided to entrepreneurs. We are interested in business incubators. We have a lot to learn from you,” Erniyazov shared his impressions.

He also expressed the idea that Kazan and the administrative center of Karakalpakstan, the city of Nukus, could become twin cities.

In July 1992, the Permanent Representative Office of Tatarstan was opened in Uzbekistan. It conducts much work on interaction with the Tatar community, on the development of trade, economic, cultural and educational cooperation.

In February 1993, an agreement on trade, economic, scientific, technical and cultural cooperation was signed between the governments of Uzbekistan and Tatarstan.

In 2017, the foreign trade turnover between Tatarstan with Uzbekistan amounted to 92.7 million US dollars, which is 1.8 times higher than in 2016.