TASHKENT (TCA) — Today, May 11, the President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev will start a state visit to China, which will finish on May 13. After the visit, the Uzbek leader will also participate in the international forum “One Belt, One Road” in Beijing on May 14-15, the Jahon information agency reports.
The program of the visit includes meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping, heads of leading Chinese banks and companies. Mirziyoyev will also deliver a keynote speech at a joint business forum. As a result of the talks, a significant package of agreements is expected to be signed providing for the expansion of mutually beneficial cooperation in various fields.
The visit of the Uzbek president was preceded by a series of meetings and negotiations at various levels. Thus, at the end of April, a delegation of Uzbekistan led by Deputy Prime Minister Rustam Azimov visited China and met with the Secretary of the Political and Legal Commission of the CPC Central Committee, Co-Chairman of the Uzbek-Chinese Intergovernmental Cooperation Committee Meng Jianzhu, and President of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank Jin Liqun. They discussed joint projects in energy, transport infrastructure, construction, chemical and pharmaceutical industries.
Earlier, a delegation headed by Uzbek Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Agriculture and Water Resources Zoir Mirzayev visited China to discuss cooperation in the agrarian sector.
The political aspects of the upcoming high-level visit were considered during the meeting of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Uzbekistan Abdulaziz Kamilov with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on April 21, 2017, as part of the meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in Astana.
The governors of almost all regions of Uzbekistan also visited China to exchange views on the advancement of small business and private entrepreneurship, creation of free economic zones and technology parks.
In April, a bilateral business forum and cooperation exchange was held in Tashkent.
Over the past years, Chinese investors have invested about 7.8 billion US dollars in the Uzbek economy.
