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Uzbekistan and Russia on Friday signed trade agreements worth more than $ 27 billion as Russian President Vladimir Putin made his first state visit to the country. Soviet republic since the death of its leader Islam Karimov, who died in 2016.
"Uzbekistan is our faithful ally and strategic partner … We will do everything in our power to strengthen our cooperation," Putin said during his meeting with Uzbekistan's counterpart Shavkat Mirziyoyev in Tashkent, the capital.
"Dear Russian friends, welcome to Uzbekistan!" read billboards along the main roads of Tashkent where Russian and Uzbek flags flew side by side.
At an economic forum parallel to the negotiations, delegations representing both sides signed agreements worth $ 27.1 billion on Friday, according to the Uzbek Ministry of Economy.
Bilateral trade between the two countries has risen by more than a third over a year to reach 3.7 billion dollars in 2017, while Uzbekistan is getting rid of nearly three decades of isolation under the Karimov regime.
Karimov, who died in 2016, generally had good relations with Moscow, but was wary of the Kremlin's influence on Uzbekistan and the Central Asian region.
Mirziyoyev, who served as Karimov's prime minister for 13 years, kept the authoritarian regime intact while reversing some of his predecessor's most controversial policies.
Putin paid tribute to the reforms launched by Mirziyoyev that fueled the appetite of foreign investors looking for new markets in a country rich in raw materials of about 33 million inhabitants.
The government reformed its foreign exchange policy, committed to modernizing its banking system and renewed its ties with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, which had been broken more than a decade ago.
"We see how the situation in Uzbekistan is changing rapidly and fundamentally, how reforms are organized and implemented," said Putin.
This allows Russia and Uzbekistan to "develop relations at a new level," he said.
Mirziyoyev on Friday welcomed "cooperation in all directions".
Among the agreements that bring Tashkent closer to Moscow is an $ 11 billion project to build a nuclear power plant – the first of its kind in Central Asia – which is expected to be online by 2028 and provide about 20 percent of the world's energy. from the country.
Putin and Mirziyoyev were to video-link a ceremony marking the construction of the Russian Rosatom power plant in the Navoi region of Uzbekistan.
Putin suggested that the plant could also provide electricity to other countries in the region where energy deficits are common.
Among the agreements signed at the Business Forum was a Memorandum of Understanding between the large Russian energy group Lukoil and the Uzbek energy company Uzbekneftftgaz.
Security was also high on the agenda of negotiations between the two heads of state.
Under Mirziyoyev, Uzbekistan has declared itself ready to host talks between the Taliban and the Afghan government, with which Uzbekistan shares a border.
"It is in our common interest to normalize the situation in Afghanistan," said Putin, who supported the initiative.
Russian President Vladimir Putin with Uzbek President Chavkat Mirziyoyev at the official welcoming ceremony in Tashkent
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