Regular bus service to be launched between Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan

ASTANA. KAZINFORM At the plenary session today, the Senate of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan has passed the bill "On Ratification of the Protocol on Amendments to the Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Government of the Republic of Uzbekistan on International Automobile Communication as of March 20, 2006,", Kazinform correspondent reports.

"Currently there are no passenger transport bus services between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, which leads to inconvenience when crossing the border. In this connection, we plan to open a regular bus route between the cities of Shymkent and Tashkent this year, and next year, between other major cities of the two countries," said the Minister for Investment and Development of Kazakhstan, Zhenis Kassymbek, presenting the bill.

According to him, the bill will give a positive impetus to further development of trade and economic ties between the states, and will also contribute to increasing the population's mobility and strengthening bilateral relations. He also noted that an equal number of carriers will be chosen on both sides to operate each route for a period of 5 years.