Tashkent is hosting a conference on “Uzbekistan and Russia – the search for new vectors of mutually beneficial partnership”, organized by the Institute for Strategic and Regional Studies under the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan (ISRS) together with the Primakov Institute of World Economy and International Relations of the Russian Academy of Sciences (IMEMO RAS).

ISRS Director Eldor Aripov addressed the conference. He noted, “Right now, the bilateral partnership has reached the level of a stable, progressive build-up of a comprehensive dialogue on a mutually beneficial basis”. He justified this thesis with the following factors:

First, the political dialogue between Uzbekistan and Russia has significantly strengthened. Since 2017, 18 mutual visits at the highest level have taken place. The leaders of the two states have already met three times since the beginning of this year.

Second, the actively expanding trade and economic ties are impressive. Over the past five years, the volume of mutual trade has doubled. At the same time, almost 70% of the trade turnover structure already falls on products with high added value. The portfolio of investment projects with Russia has reached $45 billion.

“This figure was achieved, among other things, due to the accelerated development of industrial cooperation. We have launched more than 150 projects in strategic sectors of the economy. In fact, in a short period, we managed to move from simple export-import operations to a full-fledged industrial and technological partnership”, explained the ISRS Director.

Third, direct partnerships between regions have become an essential part of relations. “Today, 80 constituent entities of the Russian Federation are developing business relations with Uzbekistan, and this is almost all of Russia”, he emphasized.

Mr. Aripov noted with satisfaction the successful holding of the first meeting of the Council of Regions of Uzbekistan and Russia. “Thus, we have given interregional cooperation an institutional character”, the ISRS Director says.

Fourth, he is convinced that cooperation in the scientific and educational sphere is deepening. Russia is the leader in supplying educational services to Uzbekistan, which became possible, among other things, thanks to the creation of a unique bilateral cooperation mechanism.

In this context, the expert mentioned the holding of the annual Russia – Uzbekistan Educational Forum and the Interregional Conference of University Rectors of Uzbekistan and Russia.

“I can say that we do not have such a format in this regard with any country”, summed up the head of the institute.

According to Eldor Aripov, issues of stabilizing the situation in Afghanistan are also on the general agenda. “There is a general understanding that economic development projects with the participation of this country should act as effective tools for maintaining peace and stability in the region”, he specified.

At the same time, interaction must be built on mutual benefit and consideration of mutual interests. Coordinating approaches, understanding each other’s needs, and searching for points of convergence are the basis on which a sustainable and equal partnership can and should be built.

In this context, the expert emphasized the importance of establishing by the ISRS and IMEMO of bilateral Uzbekistan – Russia Expert Council. “In essence, its launch will give bilateral contacts a regular character. The most important thing is to enter into scheduled discussions of issues that may be of mutual practical interest to the parties”, Mr. Aripov concluded.

G. Khonnazarov, photos by R. Nazarmatov, UzA