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President Islam Karimov Meets with UK Defense Secretary

President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Islam Karimov met with State Secretary for Defense of the United Kingdom Philip Hammond MP at the Oqsaroy.

The head of our state noted during the meeting that the event presented with a good opportunity for a detailed exchange of views on the current state of Uzbek-British relations, prospective priorities of cooperation, and for evaluation of situation in the wider region.

Great Britain is considered in Uzbekistan one of the world’s leading nations wielding tremendous political, economic and humanitarian potential, rich ancient history and culture.

A pragmatic approach to building bilateral relations allows to project broader prospects for enhancement and amplification of multilevel dialogue, for reinforcement of mutual understanding, and hence creation of an encouraging environment and prerequisites to boost cooperation.

Currently, our two countries have been interacting in the international arena on the basis of equality and mutual advantage. Inter-parliamentary contacts, consultations between foreign ministries, interagency joint efforts have been afforded a regular character and institutional foundation.

The United Kingdom is one of Uzbekistan’s important economic partners in Europe. 419 businesses with British capital have been functioning effectively in our country, while 95 companies have representative offices. The two sides share interest in implementing joint economic schemes with the application of high technologies.

Interaction has been steadfast also in the cultural and humanitarian area, primarily in education. Westminster International University in Tashkent has been critical in bolstering the specialist pool and capacities of our country. Efforts are underway to establish a Center of High Technologies in Uzbekistan’s capital city in cooperation with Cambridge University.

Discussions during today’s conversation at the Oqsaroy included regional security and stability issues, the situation in Afghanistan, prospects of furthering bilateral military and military-technical cooperation.

Philip Hammond has thanked the President of Uzbekistan for a sincere meeting, a candid and open discussion of novel aspects of cooperation between Uzbekistan and the UK, in which both sides share equal interest.
 
 
Uzbekistan National News Agency
 
 
05.03.2012