The construction is to begin in 2004-2005. The length of the line will be 8 km. There will be six stations - two of which will be underground and the other four on overpasses - from the current Sobir Rahimov station to the Sergeli residential area.

Chinese banks plan to finance the designing and construction of the Sergeli underground. The CITIC corporation will supply a centralized train management system and the necessary equipment. To this end, the partners intend to obtain an export credit through the Chinese government under Uzbek government guarantees. The amount of the loan is between 200m and 220m dollars with an 8-10-year repayment period.

Using this credit, CITIC is ready to supply 40 underground carriages, power-supply, television and radio communication equipment, as well as the necessary construction mechanisms and materials.

Experts think that this joint project for the Tashkent underground's fourth line is the most successful one. It is efficient and meets all modern construction requirements, particularly if one takes into account the fact that the Chinese designers have ample experience of building similar facilities.

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The main purpose of the exercise, which will last for one month, is to improve the efficiency of the search for terrorists and their neutralization in mountainous areas difficult of access.

The lesson of the rebel invasion in Uzbekistan in 2000 is that army and police servicemen must have good knowledge of the territory and act in coordination to blockade and, if necessary, destroy rebel groups, the Joint Staff has said.

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During their meeting they discussed the present state and the prospects of cooperation with the financial organization. They noted that in 2001 the ADB plans to invest 196m dollars in the republic under four projects, and in 2002 - 190m dollars under three projects.

Uzbekistan joined the ADB in 1995. Since that time the bank has loaned the country a total of 387m dollars under eight projects, including 177m dollars in 2000 under three projects. It also gave Uzbekistan 29 grants totalling 17.8m dollars. The ADB helps the Uzbek government in the fields of agriculture, education, motor and rail transport, and in supporting small and medium businesses.

The programme of Mr Chino's visit to Uzbekistan (June 5-8) includes meetings with the deputies of the prime minister, with the Macroeconomic and Statistics Minister Rustam Azimov, the chairman of the Central Bank Faizulla Mulladjanov, and other officials. Mr Chino will also travel to the Aral Sea region.

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Earlier there were three flights a week. From now on, French-made RJ-85 aircraft will fly every day from Almaty to Tashkent and back to Almaty.

Uzbekistan Airways is planning to start regular flights soon to Kazakhstan's centre of the metallurgical industry, Karaganda.

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For the Kazakh side the agreement was signed by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Vladimir Shkolnik.

Ramazanov said that the agreement defined the volume and parameters of water supply and other conditions connected with the introduction of water supply monitoring.

According to him, as a result of the agreement, Makhtaaral District of South Kazakhstan Region, the republic's main cotton producing region, is to receive 700m cubic metres of water from Kyrgyzstan's Toktogul water reservoir and the region's Shardara reservoir will get 2.8bn cubic metres of water from the Kyrgyz reservoir this year.

Ramazanov believes that this will resolve the water supply problem in the south of the country for this irrigation season.

At the same time, he said that to successfully implement the accord, Kazakhstan had pledged to fulfill the bilateral agreement which was signed earlier with Kyrgyzstan on the economic aspects of the payment for the water supplies to the south of the country.

Ramazanov said that Kazakhstan was still to pay a 17.8m dollar debt to Kyrgyzstan for the water supplied earlier.

Under the agreement, Kazakhstan will deliver to Kyrgyzstan 400,000 tonnes of coal from Karaganda to clear 12m dollars of the debt. According to the head of the water committee, terms of the payment of the remaining 5.7m dollars will be confirmed during next meetings. He said that most likely Kazakhstan would pay the remaining part of the debt by supplying material resources.

As was reported, the Central Asian states annually sign multilateral agreements to settle irrigation problems as on their territories there are transborder water basins and canals.

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The Eurasian Economic Community is just one of the post-Soviet formations, like numerous others of the kind, Karimov said. "Even the initiators of setting up the Eurasian Economic Community will not be able to tell its difference from the Customs Union," he said.

Karimov also said Uzbekistan does not intend to return to the Collective Security Treaty, since "the treaty is a military-political organization, while membership in such organizations runs counter to the Uzbek Constitution."

"Uzbekistan is going to solve all security problems on a bilateral footing. In particular, we are willing to integrate with Russia in security matters as far as Russia itself is prepared for this," he said.

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President Karimov: "Frankly, every country in the organization tends to derive benefit from these meetings primarily by targeting its own interests and trying to achieve its own goals rather than by discussing important issues. At present, the setting up of a free-trade zone on the territory of the former Soviet Union is an open question. The topic has been a focus for discussion for a long time, but there has been no progress. So I think that the aims of those leaders who gather at summits with their own interests and opinions can obviously be felt at future meetings.

"If you ask what Uzbekistan's aims at the meeting are, I would point to the issue of security. Security and, once again, security. Why? Because the events that happened in 1999 and in the summer and autumn of 2000 worry us. In order to prevent such frightening events from happening again, we have to protect our peace and calm, make good use of the meetings of the CIS organization and discuss all these issues. We have to receive useful help from our neighbours, particularly Russia, and reach agreements.

"We are well aware, and the latest reports confirm, that pre-summer training is in progress in Afghanistan, and we are expecting the military clashes there to escalate. We should not forget that various groups with frightening and evil aims that are based in Afghanistan, Pakistan and the mountainous areas of Tajikistan - people who are opposed to Uzbekistan or have fled from Uzbekistan - have not changed their minds. Today we should prepare to prevent this.

"Taking advantage of this opportunity, I would like to divulge the following information. Two months ago, we planned to hold military exercises in some dangerous areas, for instance in the mountainous Saryassiya and Uzun Districts [in southern Surkhandarya Region], so as to upgrade our combat readiness and to protect our borders. We have such plans, and our people should know about them. The exercises are just about to start.

"We shall broach these topics once again at the Minsk summit and we shall appeal to our neighbours, particularly Tajik President Emomali Sharipovich Rahmonov. I shall meet him and draw his attention to the issues. It would be useful to take a look at the issues relating to looking after one's own territory, the joint borders with Uzbekistan, and to establish reliable relations. Because if the two countries extend their hands and help each other in preventing [a recurrence of] the unpleasant events that occurred last year, I think that both the Tajik and Uzbek nations will only benefit. I think that we will reach agreements on these issues."

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The announcement came after a visiting delegation of the China's Eximbank had held talks at the Uzbek Pakhta Bank (Cotton Bank) in Tashkent. "In line with an intergovernmental agreement the joint-stock commercial Pakhta Bank is the borrower of the credit," the report said.

The preferential credit was given for a period of seven years, it added.

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Interest towards our young and rapidly developing state is growing around the world. Diplomatic relations at the level of embassies and various missions have been established with dozens of countries of the world. Now this list has been expanded by the honorary consulate of Sweden.

Guenther Begemann has been appointed honorary consul of Sweden. At the same time he is the representative of the Ericsson company in Uzbekistan.

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"A customs search in the presence of witnesses revealed that Qayum Jalilov had 900 g of heroin on him," the report said, adding that "this was the end of the business trip of the father of six, who wanted to make easy money".

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