The presidents of Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan signed on Thursday interstate agreements on economic cooperation for 2008-2012 and the strengthening of friendly relations.

"These documents testify to a qualitatively new level of an interstate dialogue and partnership," Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov said after the first round of talks with Uzbek counterpart Islam Karimov, who arrived here on Thursday for an official two-day visit. All in all, eight documents were signed on the results of the first day of his visit.

"By uniting economic potentials and using comprehensively the geo-political situation, the partnership of Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan comes as a real factor of a stable development of the whole Central Asian region," Berdymukhamedov said, commenting on the importance of the signed documents.

He noted "the lack of any contradictions," and expressed confidence that the agreements signed on Thursday would be successfully implemented. These are documents on cooperation between the chambers for industry and commerce and between customs services, an agreement on border crossing points as well as a program for cultural and humanitarian cooperation between the two countries for 2008-2010.

"We admitted that the level of economic cooperation is unsatisfactory, and outlined ways for a dynamic growth of trade," Islam Karimov told a news conference.

"Our talks were sincere, trustworthy and constructive, which is important," the Uzbek president stressed. He said he had invited the president of Turkmenistan to pay a state visit to Uzbekistan.