On the outcomes of official visit of Emir of State of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Jaber as-Sabah to the Republic of Uzbekistan

July 23, 2008

On the invitation of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Islam Karimov on July 21-23, 2008 the Emir of State of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Jaber as-Sabah paid an official visit to Uzbekistan.

During the negotiations at the residence of Durmen President Islam Karimov and Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Jaber as-Sabah exchanged views on the issues related to the Uzbek-Kuwait relations, problems of international and regional significance of mutual interest.

Welcoming the guest President Islam Karimov said that Kuwait is one of the close and reliable partners of Uzbekistan in the region of Persian Gulf. Noting that this visit by Emir of State of Kuwait became a logical continuation of the Al-Kuwait Summit which took place in 2004 President of Uzbekistan expressed confidence that these negotiations would expand the scale of bilateral cooperation and enrich it with a new substance.

In his turn, Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Jaber as-Sabah expressed a sincere gratitude to Islam Karimov for extending an invitation to visit Uzbekistan and said that this visit rendered a good opportunity for a detailed exchange of views on all urgent issues related to bilateral relations, current stage and prospects of cooperation.

The negotiations of President Islam Karimov and Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Jaber as-Sabah continued in expanded format with participation of official delegations of two countries.

During discussions of issues of trade, economic and investment cooperation between the two countries it was noted that the current indicators have not yet satisfied both sides. The volume of trade is relatively low and mainly is made of the Uzbek exports. Therefore, it is necessary to jointly reconsider the structure of trade and elaborate the measures to enhance it. To increase a number of joint ventures is also important.

During the talks the sides considered the issues of developing the humanitarian cooperation, and particularly, in the sphere of science, health, tourism, sports, and others.

On conclusion of negotiations the Joint Statement of the Republic of Uzbekistan and State of Kuwait was adopted.

The sides also signed agreements: between the governments of two countries on establishing the joint committee on cooperation, on cooperation in the sphere of health, on cooperation in the sphere of tourism; between the Government of the Republic of Uzbekistan and the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development – the credit agreement on reconstructing and equipping the cardio-surgical department at the Republican specialized surgery center (US$ 12.97 million); memoranda of understanding on cooperation in the oil and gas sector, of understanding on environment and natural resources protection, of understanding on cooperation between the Government of the Republic of Uzbekistan and the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development, between the Ministry for Foreign Economic Relations, Investments and Trade of the Republic of Uzbekistan and the Kuwaiti Company Mohammed Abdulmohsin Al-Kharafi & Sons on construction of hotel, protocol of understanding between the aforementioned ministry and the Kuwait Investment Agency. In the framework of visit to the Republic of Uzbekistan the Emir of State of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Jaber as-Sabah visited the Khazrati Imam Complex in the city of Tashkent.

 

City of Tashkent