BAKU, Azerbaijan, Nov. 21
By Fakhri Vakilov-Trend:
Russia's Tatarstan intends to export helicopters, agricultural machinery, oil products, car tires, household chemical goods and halal (permissible in Islam) products to Uzbekistan, Trend reports citing Tatar media.
The parties will discuss the possibility of deliveries at the Tatarstan-Uzbekistan forum, which will be held as part of the visit of Tatarstan President Rustam Minnikhanov to Uzbekistan on Nov. 25-26.
Tatarstan, in turn, is interested in importing light industry products from Uzbekistan.
According to official representative of Tatarstan capital of Kazan’s Kremlin Lilia Galimova, the delegation will include representatives of Tatneft, Tatspirtprom alcohol producer and other Tatarstan’s large manufacturers.
Within the visit, the Tatarstan‘s president will meet with one of the largest Tatar diasporas in the world, as 300,000 Tatars live in Uzbekistan, which is 1 percent of the total population of this state.
"The representative office of Tatarstan in Uzbekistan is working to attract compatriots to study at universities in Tatarstan. Currently, 3,827 students from Uzbekistan are getting higher education in our educational institutions," Galimova said.
Minnikhanov will also have a number of business meetings, including a visit to Russian KAMAZ truck producer plant in Uzbekistan’s Samarkand region. There, Tatarstan’s president will open a new line for the assembly of cars. Trucks will be assembled in a separate building with a total area of more than 7,000 square meters. The plans include the production of 3,000 cars a year.
According to Galimova, during the event, the sides will sign an agreement on the creation of a joint venture for leasing. In general, cooperation of the Tatarstan KAMAZ and Uzbekistan is characterized as "successful." Afterwards, Tatarstan’s president will go to Tashkent, where he will visit a factory for the production of agricultural machinery.
“Last year, trade between Uzbekistan and Tatarstan amounted to $146 million. This is the highest figure since 2014, as the amount increased by 57 percent compared to 2017. According to data for the first nine months of this year, the trade reached $141 million,” Galimova said.
The working visit will end with a meeting with Uzbekistan’s Prime Minister Abdulla Aripov. The parties will discuss the issue of expanding cooperation in creating an industrial park similar to Kazan Khimgrad, modernizing the healthcare system and signing a work agreement between the Uzbek rubber products plant and Tatneft.
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