It should be noted that an official delegation of the Republic of Uzbekistan headed by the minister of foreign economic relations, investments and trade of Uzbekistan and co-chairman of the joint commission, Eler Ganiyev, arrived in Ashgabat to discuss issues of bilateral cooperation. The minister of trade and foreign economic relations of Turkmenistan, Nazarguly Ataguliyev, co-chaired the commission. The Turkmen side also included heads and senior specialists of a number of ministries and organizations of Turkmenistan.

During the talks, the commission agreed on the need to take inventory of the legal framework between Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, the Ashgabat correspondent of Turkmenistan.ru reports.

The commission members emphasized their readiness to expand the mutually beneficial trade-economic partnership in the fuel and energy sector, agriculture and water management, education, tourism, transport and telecommunications. According to data cited during the meeting, trade between the two countries in 2007 rose 67% year-on-year. It is planned that a group of experts will be established in the first quarter of 2008 to study the prospects for intensifying export-import supplies.

The fourth meeting of the Turkmen-Uzbek commission will be held in Tashkent in 2009. A trade-industrial exhibition of Turkmenistan will be held in Tashkent on the same days.