The Russian companiesGazprom, LUKOIL, Soyuzneftegaz and Stroigaz cooperate with Uzbekistan, said members of a delegation accompanying Russian First Deputy Prime Minster Sergei Ivanov on his visit to the Central Asian republic.

There isGazprom’s export contract for deliveries of 13 billion cubic metres of gas in 2007, Itar-Tass reported.

Under a programme of geological prospecting work at Ustyurt plateau in Uzbekistan, the Russian gas company is to invest 400 million dollars within five years, including 260 million in the nearest three years.

The total price of the package of accords between the two countries’ companies on investment projects in the fuel and energy sector is over 3 billion dollars.

The implementation of the accords will allow Uzbekistan to increase volumes of exported gas to 20 billion cubic metres by 2012.

Uzbekistan is the fourth-largest trade partner of Russia among CIS states. Its proportion in Russia’s total trade with the CIS is about 4 percent.

Russia’s proportion in Uzbekistan’s trade is 26 percent.

An agreement on military-technical cooperation is being implemented.