Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- Rais of Tatarstan Rustam Minnikhanov met with the Chairman of the Jokargy Kenes (parliament) of Karakalpakstan Amanbay Orynbayev and Advisor to the President of Uzbekistan Tursinkhan Khudaybergenov. The issues of creating a special economic zone, educational centers and further expansion of cooperation were discussed.

As Orynbayev noted, for Karakalpakstan the visit of Rais of Tatarstan became historic and congratulated Rustam Minnikhanov on the past Constitution Day of the republic. “We evaluate today’s meeting as a clear example of strengthening cooperation between the regions of Russia and Uzbekistan. And your visit is historic for us,” he said.

The Assistant to the President of Uzbekistan conveyed greetings from Shavkat Mirziyoyev to Minnikhanov. According to him, the Uzbek leader attaches great importance to this visit and sees prospects for further development of cooperation between the regions.

“We highly appreciate the opportunity to expand cooperation with your country within the framework of friendly Russian-Uzbek relations. Special credit for this goes to the Presidents of our states, Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin and Shavkat Mirziyoyev,” Minnikhanov emphasized, in turn.

In 2022, trade turnover between Tatarstan and Uzbekistan exceeded US$290 million. In the first half of 2023, it showed an increase of 30% - to US$147.7 million.

At the meeting, the leadership of Karakalpakstan proposed creating a special economic zone, taking into account the experience of Tatarstan and the successful implementation of similar projects in Chirchik. The parties noted that the decision will be made based on an analysis of the potential of the sites inspected during the visit of the Tatarstan delegation.

Another issue discussed at the event was the organization of special sites for personnel training at enterprises.