Tatarstan President Rustam Minnikhanov addressed the plenary session of the Russia-Uzbekistan business forum held in Samarkand. The event is attended by heads of Russian and Uzbek governments.
Moderating the forum, Russian Minister of Economic Development Maxim Reshetnikov introduced Tatarstan as one of the regions actively cooperating with Uzbekistan and asked the president of Tatarstan to talk about the successful experience.
"Tatarstan, as one of the leading and industrially developed Russian regions, is actively involved in the development of cooperation between our countries," Rustam Minnikhanov said in his greeting to the business forum participants.
He reminded that two important joint projects have been realized this year in Uzbekistan. Those are: the opening of Chirchik chemical-industrial techno park and a branch of Kazan (Volga Region) Federal University in Jizzakh. In addition, a number of large industrial enterprises are actively cooperating.
According to the results of last year, the Tatarstan-Uzbekistan trade turnover exceeded $193 million. "For the first nine months of this year, we have seen a growth in trade turnover by 47 percent," Rustam Minnikhanov stressed.
He dwelt separately on the importance of expanding humanitarian cooperation. Today, 3,335 students from Uzbekistan study at Tatarstan's universities.
"I want to express my gratitude to the leadership of Uzbekistan for supporting the Tatar community," Rustam Minnikhanov concluded.
GSV "Russia - Islamic world"
Photo: official website of the President of the Republic of Tatarstan
Based on materials from the Press Service of the President of the Republic of Tatarstan