Tatarstan President Rustam Minnikhanov meets Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev

On March 23, during his working visit to Uzbekistan, Tatarstan President Rustam Minnikhanov had a meeting with President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev.

During the meeting, Minnikhanov warmly thanked Mirziyoyev for the opportunity to visit Uzbekistan again and on behalf of the multi-ethnic people of Tatarstan congratulated the President and the brotherly people of Uzbekistan on the holiday of early spring – Navruz.

Tatarstan President expressed his gratitude for the special attention to the development of cooperation aimed at strengthening relations between Russia and Uzbekistan. “We highly appreciate your support of Tatarstan companies operating in the country. This year marks the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Uzbekistan. The established good traditions of many years of fruitful Russian-Uzbek cooperation have become a solid basis for cooperation between our countries. In these difficult times, we have maintained an efficient trade, economic, cultural and humanitarian partnership. I am convinced that the positive experience gained in bilateral cooperation will contribute to the further development of good relations between our countries,” he emphasized.

The parties were united in the opinion that a good reason for the meeting was the opening of the Chirchik chemical-industrial technopark, a joint project of Khimgrad company in Tatarstan and Uzbek partners.

Minnikhanov emphasized that over the past 5 years, relations between Tatarstan and the regions of Uzbekistan have been steadily strengthening, and the Uzbekistan President personally plays a huge role in this. For example, at the end of 2021, the Tatarstan-Uzbekistan trade turnover amounted to almost 200 million US dollars and increased by 23.5 per cent. There is still a huge potential for the development of cooperation that has not yet been fully used. Currently, a number of agreements, memorandums on cooperation between ministries, chambers of commerce and industry, enterprises, organizations and universities have been signed and are being implemented. Work is underway with the leading Tatarstan companies, such as KAMAZ Automaker, Tatneft Oil Company, Khimgrad, ElAZ, KMPO, IED-Holding, the Tatkhimfarmpreparaty Pharmaceutical Company, POZiS and others.

Minnikhanov said that today the largest number of Tatars outside the Russian Federation live in Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. In particular, the estimated number of Tatars in Uzbekistan exceeds 300,000. Uzbekistan’s largest Tatar diaspora live in the Tashkent and Samarkand regions. Tatarstan President personally thanked the President of Uzbekistan for the support of the Tatar community.

At the end of the meeting, the parties agreed to continue their cooperation. In particular, Minnikhanov invited Mirziyoyev to visit Tatarstan during his visit to the Russian Federation.