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U.S. delegation to visit Uzbekistan
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Further strengthening of U.S.-Uzbek
cooperation will be high on the agenda of the upcoming visit to Tashkent by a
U.S. State Department delegation.
The delegation led by Deputy Special Adviser to the U.S. Secretary of State for
the New Independent State Ross Wilson is due to visit Uzbekistan on February
2-4.
The Foreign Ministry told Itar-Tass that the delegation will have talks at the
Foreign Ministry, the Ministry of Foreign Economic Relations, the Finance
Ministry and the presidential administration.
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Uzbekistan for CIS economic integration
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Uzbekistan supports the establishment of a
free trade zone within the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) as
economic integration is the priority in the development of the CIS, Uzbek
President Islam A. Karimov said on Monday.
Speaking at a press conference after meeting with visiting CIS executive
secretary Boris Berezovsky in Tashkent, he also said that Uzbekistan firmly
opposes the setting up of a "ultra-national institution" in any form, the Central
Asia Interf ax news agency reported.
At its present development stage, Karimov added, the foremost task for the CIS
is to establish a free trade zone and push forward the process of economic
integration, two moves that will help the integration process in other areas.
At the same time, the president stressed that his country opposes the setting up
of a "collective leadership" of any form within the CIS to replace the current
executive committee.
The committee should not become a "ultra-national institution," he emphasized.
Karimov also expressed his concern that the alliance between Russia and
Belarus might go beyond the concept of state sovereignty, thought he noted that
this was the "internal affairs" of Russia and Belarus.
Agreeing with Karimov, Berezovsky noted that economic integration should be
given priority and economic alliance become an integral part of the CIS.
Berezovsky left Tashkent on Monday for Belarus.
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Uzbekistan completes $76 mln. textile plant
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The European Bank for Reconstruction and
Development (EBRD) and Turkey's Tekmen Group consortium have completed
the main construction of a textile plant in ex-Soviet Uzbekistan, an official said
on Wednesday.
The $76 million plant, located in the eastern Namangan region, will produce
cloth fabrics and yarn for carpets and blankets.
"The basic groundwork at the plant has been completed," said Alexei Dogonkin,
head of the investment association Uzbeklegprom, which deals with light
industry. "Now we are building up towards full capacity."
Tekmen Group owns a 41.4 percent stake in the Kasansai Tekmen joint
venture, the EBRD a 26.3 percent share and the Uzbek partner, AO Kasansai
Silk Weaving Association, the remaining 32.3 percent.
Dogonkin said that the plant aimed to export 80 percent of its output worth $40
million every year.
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50 kg of heroin confiscated in Uzbekistan
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Uzbek security forces have seized 750
kilograms of drugs, including more than 50 kilograms of heroin, hidden in a truck
filled with lemons bound for Russia, a spokeswoman for the National Security
Service said on Friday.
The spokeswoman said three citizens of neighbouring Tajikistan were arrested
on Wednesday transporting the drugs, which included 591 kg of opium and 73
kg of hashish.
The heroin haul was especially large, she said, adding that only about 70 kg of
heroin were confiscated in the country last year.
The spokeswoman said the drugs were hidden among a shipment of lemons on a
truck bound for Krasnoyarsk in Russian Siberia.
Uzbekistan and Tajikstan have been a route for drugs flowing from growing
regions in Afghanistan and Pakistan over Russia to Europe.
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Uzbek-Iranian relations expanding, says Iranian ambassador
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The Iranian ambassador to Uzbekistan, Mohsen Pakayin, has said
that trade between the two countries in 1998 totalled 200m
dollars. Speaking in an interview for Uzbek radio, the
ambassador said that this figure was "not satisfactory" and
that if obstacles to bilateral relations were removed, trade
could increase considerably. In 1998, nearly 250,000 tonnes of
Uzbek goods were sent in transit through Iran to European and
Asian countries. The Iranian Soderot Bank is to open a branch
in the Uzbek capital, the ambassador noted, and a customs
agreement is due to be signed this year. On the political
front, he recalled the visit of Uzbek Foreign Minister
Abdulaziz Komilov to Iran last November, and the two countries
coordination on efforts to solve the Afghan conflict. The
following is the text of the report on Uzbek radio on 25th
January:
[Presenter] Recently great changes have been taking place in
all spheres of our life. So it is a good tradition to sum up
the results of the year and outline the plans ahead. Well, how
were our republic's mutual relations with various countries of
the world in 1998? Our reporter Ghofur Jamolov will dwell on
this.
[Jamolov] Of course, we can answer the question generally:
very good. If we look deeper into our republic's relations with
the countries of the world, we can see that it was a year of
development and progress in relations with every country in the
socio-political, economic, scientific, technical and cultural
fields. Today we would like to speak about relations between
Uzbekistan and Iran. Our interviewee is the Iranian ambassador,
Mr Mohsen Pakayin.
[Jamolov reading out an Uzbek translation over Pakayin
speaking in Farsi] In the name of Allah, the merciful and
beneficent. The year 1998 was fruitful in developing relations
between Iran and Uzbekistan. Last year our cooperation expanded
in regional, bilateral and international aspects. I hope that
in this new year of 1999 our relations will grow further on the
basis of what was achieved in 1998. Looking back on our mutual
contacts in 1998 we see the following picture, says the
ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran to our country Mr
Mohsen Pakayin at the beginning.
From the political point of view, the Foreign Minister of
the Republic of Uzbekistan Mr Abdulaziz Komilov visited Iran
[24th-26th November 1998] during which the two sides discussed
bilateral cooperation, especially economic contacts as well as
regional security and ways of settling the crises in Tajikistan
and Afghanistan. They dwelled on economic contacts and spoke
about the development of bilateral relations in trade and
communications.
During the visit Mr Komilov was accompanied by the Head of
the Economic Relations Departments of the Cabinet of Ministers
of the Republic of Uzbekistan Mr Muhidov, for whom special
meetings were organized to discuss economic matters. For
example, the date of the next meeting of the joint economic
commission of the two countries was set. God willing, that
important meeting will take place in February 1999.
As to the Afghan problem, both sides stated the need to
form a coalition government in the country including all ethnic
groups and political forces of Afghanistan. They first of all
stated the need for the conflicting sides to maintain a
ceasefire and after that enter negotiations. Both sides stated
that the UN plays an important role in a political settlement
of the Afghan problem. When we asked Mr Ambassador to express
his opinion about the six plus two international conference on
the Afghan settlement he answered as follows:
The meetings held stressed the need to continue the six
plus two group's negotiations on Afghanistan. To this end the
Uzbek side informed the responsible Iranian officials about its
plans at the Tashkent meeting of the six plus two group.
Also a delegation headed by the chairman of the State
Customs Committee of the Republic of Uzbekistan Otkir Komilov
has visited Iran. During the visit a bilateral protocol on
cooperation between the customs structures of both countries
was signed by the heads of customs. Both sides recommended the
customs posts under their competence to facilitate the passage
of Uzbekistan's trucks and trains arriving in Iran and Iranian
trucks and trains going to Central Asia. Thanks to Allah, the
existing difficulties on border posts dealing with exit and
entrance from and to Iran and Uzbekistan were settled. Both
sides agreed to sign an agreement on customs in 1999.
We asked Mr Ambassador to speak about the volume of
commodity circulation and the use of transport communications.
The volume of commercial commodity circulation between
Iran and Uzbekistan last year was 200m dollars and this is a
good figure, continued Mr Ambassador. But taking into account
that the peoples of both countries have greater potential, it
is not satisfactory. If obstacles are removed on the road to
developing biletaral relations, especially in the customs
field, we will see a considerable growth in trade relations.
Last year nearly 250,000 tonnes of Uzbek goods, including
cotton, were taken in transit across Iranian territory to
European and Asian countries, which shows the development of
relations in the field of communications. It is pleasing that
most of those goods were transported by rail.
The Central Bank of the Republic of Uzbekistan has issued
a licence for Iran's Soderot [Export] Bank to open a
fully-fledged branch in your country. At present
representatives from the Soderot Bank are working in Tashkent,
and they have received a plot of land in picturesque Khamid
Olimjon Square for the bank.
One more important achievement of the previous year is the
opening of a cargo transportation office of the Iranian private
(?Most-e Zafon) Fund. The company provides transportation
services. As you know roads are of great importance for the
development of inter-state relations.
So, these good steps are being taken towards the
development of trade and economic relations between Uzbekistan
and Iran. They play an important role in translating into
practice the previously signed agreements between the two
countriues, says in conclusion Mr Mohsen Pakayin, the
ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran to our country. | Source: Uzbek Radio first programme, Tashkent, in Uzbek 0900 gmt 25 Jan. 99
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