Azernews.Az

By Kamila Aliyeva

Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev is expected to pay an official visit to Turkmenistan on September 17 at the invitation of President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov.

The Uzbek president will take part in the opening ceremony of the 5th Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games in Ashgabat, the Uzbek Foreign Ministry reported.

Mirziyoyev is also expected to hold a number of bilateral meetings with the leadership of other countries.

The 5th Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games will be held on September 17-27. Uzbekistan will be represented by 189 athletes at the competitions.

Uzbek-Turkmen relations are consistently developing on the basis of the Interstate Agreement signed in 2007 on further strengthening friendly relations and comprehensive cooperation.

Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan mutually support each other in the international arena. There is consistent cooperation within the framework of the United Nations, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea and other international structures.

The volume of trade turnover between the two countries does not correspond to the available potential. In 2015, the volume of bilateral trade between the two countries amounted to about $320 million, in January-August of 2016 - $177 million.

Uzbekistan exports fertilizers, construction materials, fruits and vegetables, electrical and mechanical equipment, vehicles, ferrous and non-ferrous metals, services to Turkmenistan. Turkmenistan supplies oil products, propylene polymers, sulfuric acid to Uzbekistan.

The transport industry is one of the priority areas of Uzbek-Turkmen cooperation. Cargo is transported to Turkmenistan through the territory of Uzbekistan and vice versa. The integrated roads and railways of the two states also perform a transit function for third countries. In this regard, the agreement signed in 2011 on the construction of the Uzbekistan-Turkmenistan-Iran-Oman transport and communication corridor is of geostrategic importance.

Both Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan have rich hydrocarbon resources. Their export requires mutually agreed actions, which expand the capabilities of the two Central Asian nations in diversifying the energy industries and entering the world markets. A striking example of this is the Turkmenistan-Uzbekistan-Kazakhstan-China gas pipeline, which was put into operation in 2009.

In Uzbekistan, 7 enterprises operate with the participation of the Turkmen side. In Turkmenistan, there are 6 enterprises with participation of residents of Uzbekistan.

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Kamila Aliyeva is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Kami_Aliyeva

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