Uzbekistan- Russia: Towards development of all-round cooperation

Diplomatic relations between the Republic of Uzbekistan and the Russian Federation were established on March 20, 1992. On May 30, 1992, an Agreement on the Foundations of Interstate Relations, Friendship and Cooperation was signed. Since the establishment of diplomatic relations, cooperation between the two countries has begun to develop in many areas, including political, economic, cultural, humanitarian spheres and others.
Focusing of political relations between Uzbekistan and Russia, they are characterized by regular contacts at the highest level. These meetings are often accompanied by the signing of important agreements and memoranda of cooperation in various fields. The Presidents and government delegations of the two countries often meet to discuss important international and regional issues.

Both countries are active participants in organizations such as the CIS, SCO and CSTO, which contributes to the coordination of their foreign policy activities. Participating in the summits of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), the leaders discuss issues of regional security, economic cooperation and cultural exchanges.
On October 19, 2018, during the state visit of the head of the Russian Federation to Uzbekistan, Vladimir Putin held talks with President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev. Following the consultations, Vladimir Putin and Shavkat Mirziyoyev signed a joint statement.
Also, during the state visit of the President of Russia to Uzbekistan, a package of documents on cooperation between the two countries in trade, economic, energy, scientific, cultural, humanitarian, educational, social and labor spheres was signed.
In turn, on October 5-7, 2023, President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev paid an official visit to Russia. The leaders of Russia and Uzbekistan held talks in Moscow, during which they discussed the prospects for further development of Russian-Uzbekistan relations of comprehensive strategic partnership and alliance, as well as topical regional and international issues.
The Heads of state noted that thanks to the intensification of dialogue and contacts at all levels, a qualitatively new stage of interstate cooperation between Uzbekistan and Russia has begun.
It is important to note economic cooperation, which is one of the key components of bilateral relations. Russia is one of Uzbekistan’s largest trading partners. Mutual trade covers a wide range of goods, including agricultural products, textiles, oil and gas, metallurgical products and equipment.
Russia has become one of Uzbekistan’s main trading partners, and Uzbek goods such as textiles and fruit and vegetable products have been exported to the Russian market since the first years of bilateral cooperation. In turn, oil and petroleum products, natural gas, metals, machinery and equipment, and chemical products are sent from Russia to Uzbekistan. In recent years, the volume of mutual trade has increased significantly, due to the improvement of trade infrastructure and the reduction of trade barriers. In recent years, there has been an increase in investments, especially in sectors such as energy, transport and communications.
On September 18, 2023, at the 4th meeting of the Joint Commission at the level of the heads of Government of Russia and Uzbekistan, Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation Mikhail Mishustin and Prime Minister of the Republic of Uzbekistan Abdullah Aripov noted the importance of bilateral relations. During the meeting, information was announced about the current state of Uzbek-Russian economic relations.

“For us, Uzbekistan is one of the leading economic partners in the Central Asian region. Russia, in turn, occupies the first place in foreign trade with Uzbekistan” – Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said at the meeting.
It was noted that the mutual trade turnover exceeded 600 billion rubles and increased by more than a quarter. Over the past six months, this figure has increased by almost 14.5% and amounted to about 470 billion rubles. Over the past five years, the growth rate of mutual trade has averaged 20% annually. It was predicted that the trade turnover would grow to 10 billion US dollars. The total volume of accumulated investments of Russia in the economy of Uzbekistan exceeded more than 1 trillion rubles.
It is worth emphasizing that the priority areas of cooperation are industrial cooperation, metallurgy, automotive, pharmaceuticals, railway engineering, agricultural machinery, agro–industrial complex, textile industry, transport infrastructure, gas processing, energy. Industrial cooperation projects are being actively implemented in the mining and metallurgical industry, energy, chemical, agricultural, machine-building and electrical industries.
Examples of cooperation are the creation of a new modern gas processing complex at the Kandym group of fields, as well as the development of the Shakhpakhty and Dzhel fields, the creation of the Chirchik chemical technopark in the Tashkent region. In April, a new project was launched – a technopark in the Jizzakh region of Uzbekistan. Work is underway to prepare an agreement on the creation of similar parks in Navoi and Bukhara regions. There are also about 3,000 enterprises with the participation of Russian capital operating in Uzbekistan.
It is considered important that Uzbekistan supports the development of the international North–South corridor and is interested in jointly launching a new multimodal transport corridor Belarus – Russia – Kazakhstan – Uzbekistan – Afghanistan – Pakistan. An important aspect of the implementation of this initiative is the construction of a railway along the trans-Afghan corridor.
Cultural and humanitarian ties between the two countries are also of great importance. The active political dialogue between the leaders of the two countries, based on the principles of mutual respect and trust, allowed for a significant increase in the scale of relations in the cultural and humanitarian sphere in a short time.
Russian schools and branches of leading Russian universities operate in Uzbekistan. Cultural exchanges, festivals and exhibitions are regularly held, which contribute to strengthening friendship and mutual understanding between the peoples of the two countries.
Branches of Russian universities in Tashkent and in other cities of Uzbekistan, you can get a higher education, study for a dream profession, and then build a successful career.

Branches of the Lomonosov Moscow State University, the Plekhanov Russian Academy of Economics, and the Gubkin Russian State University of Oil and Gas successfully operate in Tashkent. Also, they carry out activities – a branch of the Synergy Institute in Tashkent; a branch of the Mendeleev Russian University of Chemical Technology in Tashkent; A branch of the National Research Nuclear University in Tashkent; A branch of the National Research Technological University in Almalyk (Tashkent region); A branch of Astrakhan State Technical University in the Tashkent region; a branch of the Moscow State Institute of International Relations in Tashkent; a branch of the All-Russian State Institute of Cinematography named after S.A. Gerasimov (VGIK) in Tashkent; a branch of Kazan Federal University in Jizzakh (Jizzakh region) and others.
Branches of Russian universities in Uzbekistan open up many opportunities for young people, contributing to their educational, professional and personal development. Along with the opportunity to study modern technologies and methods used in various fields of science and technology, students can participate in exchange programs, internships and joint projects with Russian and international universities. This allows them to gain international experience and establish useful professional connections. They have the opportunity to participate in scientific research and projects conducted jointly with Russian and international scientists. This allows them to develop their research skills and contribute to the scientific community.
Modern realities, trends and prospects for the development of bilateral cooperation in the field of higher education are constantly discussed during the Interregional conferences of rectors of universities of Uzbekistan and Russia.

In addition, both Days of Uzbek Culture in Russia and Days of Russian Culture in Uzbekistan are held, where photo exhibitions, traditional clothes, songs, dances, musical instruments, cuisine are demonstrated.
Days of Culture is the largest exchange program between Russia and Uzbekistan, conducted by the Ministries of Culture of the two countries. Its purpose is to develop all forms of cultural cooperation and communication between peoples, mutual exchange of cultural achievements, encouragement of joint creative activity, art, active promotion of mutual enrichment of national cultures.

Relations between Uzbekistan and Russia continue to develop dynamically, covering a wide range of cooperation. Both countries strive to deepen mutually beneficial partnership, which contributes to sustainable development and stability in the region.
Prospects for further strengthening ties between Uzbekistan and Russia include expanding trade and economic ties, joint infrastructure projects and strengthening cultural exchanges, medicine and sports, which underlines the importance and mutually beneficial nature of these relations.

UzA