Uzbek President welcomes ‘unbelievable rise' in trade with Kazakhstan
The bilateral meeting in the Akorda presidential residence was held ahead of the working (consultative) meeting with the heads of the Central Asian states.
At the onset of the meeting, Nursultan Nazarbayev praised the outcomes of the first year of President Mirziyoyev's presidency.
"Over the year, you have done tremendous work: you have established relations with neighbors, solved the problems of mutual trade," the Kazakh leader noted.
President Nazarbayev reminded that it was Shavkat Mirziyoyev who came up with the idea to hold the working meeting of the heads of the Central Asian states.
He continued by stressing the meeting was organized for purely economic reasons. "We want to solve the economic problems in trade, communications, and transport," he said.
In turn, Shavkat Mirziyoyev welcomed ‘unbelievable increase' in bilateral trade between Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. He said, "This year it may reach up to $3 billion. But initially we hoped it would reach the mark of $5 billion."
He also thanked the Kazakh side for supporting Uzbekistan's initiative to hold the consultative meeting and organizing it in a short span of time.
Nursultan Nazarbayev, in turn, added that the March 15 meeting ‘is only the beginning' and that there proposals to convene CA meetings on Afghanistan and the problem of the Aral Sea.