Uzbek TV/Radio
March 17
zbek President Islam Karimov received the chief of the Turkish General Staff, Gen Huseyin Kivrikoglu, on Monday.
Welcoming the chief of the Turkish General Staff, Gen Huseyin Kivrikoglu, to the country, the Uzbek head of state, Islam Karimov, expressed his respect for Turkish President Ahmet Necdet Sezer and the Turkish people. The fact that the Turkish delegation is visiting Uzbekistan will serve as an important factor for bilateral relations to develop at a new level, the president noted.
The two countries cooperate in the military and military-technical fields as well as the political, economic, cultural and social spheres. The Uzbek-Turkish intergovernmental military and military-technical cooperation agreement is an example of this. The talks discussed broadening relations in this area, the final stage of the antiterrorist operations in Afghanistan and general peace and security in the region.
On Sunday Gen. Huseyin Kivrikoglu also visited Bukhara and Samarkand. But on Monday he had a meeting at the Uzbek Defence Ministry. Uzbek Minister Qodir Ghulomov and the Turkish general exchanged views on the development of military and military-technical cooperation. As a result of the meetings, an agreement on a military aid grant was signed between the Uzbek and Turkish governments. A protocol on the provision of financial aid between the Uzbek Defence Ministry and the Turkish Armed Forces' General Staff will also come into effect as part of the agreement. According to the agreement, Turkey will give 1.2 mln. dollars as free assistance to servicemen in Uzbekistan.
In this respect, it should be noted that Turkey has provided assistance to Uzbekistan on a number of occasions as part of the military and military-technical cooperation between Turkey and Uzbekistan.
Turkey sent 1.5 mln. dollars worth of military equipment and servicemen's clothing to Uzbekistan last year.
As a continuation of the aid, military equipment worth 300,000 dollars was handed over to the Uzbek Defence Ministry in early March.
Furthermore, the process of training Uzbek officers is continuing in both Turkey and Uzbekistan as part of the bilateral cooperation. The agreement that was signed will make it possible to further expand the scope of the cooperation.
A meeting with the chief of the Turkish General Staff, Huseyin Kivrikoglu was held at the Uzbek Foreign Ministry too. Welcoming the distinguished guest's visit to Uzbekistan, Uzbek Foreign Minister Abdulaziz Komilov said that the visit was important not only for further expanding bilateral relations, and but also in terms of exchanging views on the situation in the region, since the security issues are important not only in the countries of the Central Asian region, but also in Turkey and in all countries in general, Komilov said. The chief of the Turkish General Staff, Huseyin Kivrikoglu, expressed his satisfaction with his visit to Uzbekistan. Mr Kivrikoglu said that Turkey always paid attention to cooperating comprehensively with Uzbekistan. It is important for Turkey to expand cooperation in every sphere, he added.