Rustam Minnikhanov meets a delegation from Uzbekistan

On 14 July, speaking at his meeting with a delegation from Uzbekistan headed by the Deputy Foreign Minister of the country Olimjon Abdullayev held in the Government House of the republic, the Rais (Head) of Tatarstan Rustam Minnikhanov thanked the leadership of Uzbekistan for the attention it attaches to the development of cooperation with Tatarstan aimed at strengthening friendly Russia-Uzbekistan relations.

“In recent years, our contacts have noticeably intensified. According to results of the last year our turnover exceeded 376m dollars US. We have opportunities for increasing the amount and range of mutual deliveries and services. There is a representative office of Tatarstan in your country, and the Consulate General of Uzbekistan is successfully operating in Kazan. Ambassadors of Russia and Uzbekistan actively assist us in our work. There are direct flights between Kazan and Tashkent, Samarkand and Fergana and we work successfully with Uzbekistan regions,” he emphasized.

Having mentioned active work of leading companies of the republic with Uzbekistan partners and the joint projects of technical parks Chirchik and Djizak and the development of industrial sites in Bukhara and Navoi regions, Rustam Minnikhanov stated that the joint work within the Strategic Vision Group “Russia-the Islamic world” which he is the Head of by the errand of the Russian President, facilitates strengthening the cooperation.

“We attach great attention to interaction in the spheres of education, culture and sports. Currently we have 2 700 students from Uzbekistan at our universities and the national-cultural autonomy of Tatarstan Uzbeks is operating here. Every year the Tatar Sabantuy holiday is held in Tashkent. I am very grateful for your support given to the Tatar community – and this is more than 300 thousand people – living in Uzbekistan,” the Rais of the republic concluded.

In his turn Olimjon Abdullayev thanked for the hospitality given to the delegation during its stay in Tatarstan and said: “We feel ourselves home here which testifies to the high level of trust, interaction and mutual respect. It is a great honor for us to be in hospitable Kazan, the city with rich history and dynamically developing economy and original culture. I am sure our visit will be another important step for strengthening bilateral relations.”

The parties of the meeting discussed prospects of further development of trade, economic and humanitarian bonds, strengthening of cooperation in machine-building and petrochemical industries and the implementation of advanced technological projects.