President of Turkmenistan Ends His Visit to Uzbekistan

March 12, 2008

As has been reported, on March 10-11,2008 the President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdymuhamedov paid a State visit to the Republic of Uzbekistan.

The visit has served yet as another important stage in the relations between the two brotherly and friendly nations, rendered a new impetus to take such ties up to a newer heights and frontiers for the sake of well being and prosperity of the people of two countries.

“It is a fine opportunity for me to thank the President of Uzbekistan and the people of this nation for the heartfelt welcome,” – the President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdymuhamedov has said.

In Tashkent on the day of his arrival in the country – March 10 – Mr. Berdymuhamedov had both tete-à-tete talks with the Uzbek Leader as well as he led his high-profile delegation of top-ranking ministers and heads of agencies, including the two governors of provinces, to a roundtable negotiations with the Uzbek colleagues.

“During our talks we have touched upon the issues of bilateral cooperation in the sphere of trade, agriculture, as much as those of both regional and international nature,” – President Islam Karimov of Uzbekistan has said speaking to both local and international journalists who have gathered in crowds at the Tashkent countryside residence of Durmen, the very site of talks of two leaders.

Thus, following the delegation-level negotiations of Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan on March 10 the two sides have signed a number of documents.

President Islam Karimov and President Gurbanguly Berdymuhamedov signed the Joint Uzbek-Turkmen Communique and Protocol on the exchange of instruments of ratifications of the treaty on further strengthening the friendly relations and comprehensive cooperation between the Republic of Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan signed in Ashkhabad on October 18, 2007.

Also, the sides have signed the intergovernmental agreements on cooperation in the sphere of governmental communication, in the area of using and accomplishing the repair and restoration works at the economic sites of the Republic of Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan located in the borderline territories of states and in the field of agro-industrial complex, as well as the protocol of cooperation between the foreign ministries of Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan.

After the official part of his stay in Uzbekistan Mr. Berdymuhamedov accompanied by the Prime Minister of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoev visited the Mustakillik (Independence) Square in Tashkent.

The visit to the nation’s main square came as one the important events as a part of the Turkmen Leader’s State visit to Uzbekistan.

At the Square Mr. Berdymuhamedov has laid wreath to the Independence and Humanism Monument, the symbol of freedom, bright future and noble aspirations.

President of Turkmenistan has said that the monument unveiled on the initiative of President Islam Karimov is a unique complex that expresses the peace-loving policy of Uzbekistan as much as the kind aspirations of the Uzbek people on the way to well being and prosperity.

Later the same day Mr. Berdymuhamedov paid a visit to the Khazrati Imam Complex, also known as the Khastimom Complex, in Tashkent, the grand renovated complex of buildings of both worldly and religious significance.

The restoration and reconstruction works at the Complex have been initiated by President of Uzbekistan Islam Karimov as a part of nationwide efforts to preserve the spiritual and cultural heritage of the Uzbek people, as well as in terms of Tashkent to have been announced as the capital of Islamic culture by the Islamic Scientific, Educational and Cultural Organization (ISESCO) in 2007.

“The accomplished work at this site is worth much praise and appreciation,” – President Gurbanguly Berdymuhamedov has said.

Also, the Turkmen Leader saw the unique Usman Koran, the rare holy manuscript now preserved at the library of the Board of Muslims of Uzbekistan in Tashkent.

On the second day of his stay in Uzbekistan on March 11 at the Oksaroy Residence in Tashkent in a quite festive gathering and atmosphere the President of Turkmenistan was conferred on the rank of Honorary doctor of the Tashkent Medical Academy.

“This visit has become an important event in social and political life of the two countries,” – Islam Karimov has said, “it is of a special significance in consolidating the bilateral relations, developing the friendship and cooperation”.

The Uzbek Leader has paid a special attention to the ties of Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan in humanitarian sphere, particularly, the cooperation in the sphere of healthcare. Mr. Karimov spoke about the Turkmen President’s fruitful work in developing the healthcare system of Turkmenistan.

President Gurbanguly Berdymuhamedov has thanked the President Islam Karimov for the enormous attention he has received from him. He has underscored that the profound reforms consistently being carried out in Uzbekistan under the leadership of Mr. Karimov, including in the sphere of health, are bearing their positive results.

“We are interested in gradually cooperating both in all spheres and in consolidating the mutual scientific and practical ties in the sphere of medicine,” – the President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdymuhamedov has said.

The same day the two presidents participated in the ceremony of laying the first stone to the foundation of a new building of Embassy of Turkmenistan in Uzbekistan.

President of Uzbekistan Islam Karimov has highly assessed the scheme of the new building designed on the initiative of President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdymuhamedov. The building of the embassy will be one of the beautiful buildings in Tashkent, the experts predict.

Mr. Berdymuhamedov has said that the laying of foundation of the embassy’s new building witnesses about the gradual development of the Uzbek-Turkmen relations.

The two leaders have placed the capsule into the foundation of the site. The capsule contained the message to forthcoming generations from both presidents.

The same day in the company of Prime Minister of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoev the President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdymuhamedov visited Samarkand.

In Samarkand Mr. Berdymuhamedov paid a visit to the SamAuto plant, the local automobile plant that makes the Isuzu buses and trucks. The buses made in the plant are now widely seen in the streets nationwide in Uzbekistan. They are also being exported to other countries.

On seeing around the plant and on-site facilities the President of Turkmenistan has highly assessed the fact that it was equipped with the latest technologies. He has said that the plant would make one of the important points in the list of items to be addressed vis-à-vis the cooperation in economic sphere.

Also, in the city of Samarkand Mr. Berdymuhamedov visited the Gur Emir Mausoleum, the burial site of great commander and statesman of medieval ages Amir Temur. The places of visit by a Turkmen high-profile guest also included the Registan Square, Shakhi-Zinda Complex, as well as the Ulughbek Observatory.

“The historical monuments and unique contemporary look of Samarkand astonish each and every one and leave with the person the unforgettable impressions,” – President Berdymuhamedov has said by revealing his innermost feelings of what has been seen in the town.

Thus, on March 11 the President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdymuhamedov concluded his State visit to the Republic of Uzbekistan by leaving for Ashkhabad, his nation’s capital, directly from Samarkand.

The visit became a logical continuation of the Uzbek-Turkmen Summit of October 2007 in Ashkhabad. The arrangements secured during the visit as much as the signed documents are the confirmation of a qualitatively new stage of relations between Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, as well as the development of mutually beneficial cooperation based on friendship and mutual trust.