OREANDA-NEWS. April 01, 2010.  President of Uzbekistan Islam Karimov received Vice Chairman of the Government of Russia Sergey Ivanov at Oqsaroy residence in Tashkent on 31 March.

Welcoming the guest, the head of the state once again expressed condolences to the leadership and the people of Russia on the death of the people as a result of terrorist acts in Moscow metro on 29 March.

Speaking about Uzbek-Russian relations, President of Uzbekistan said they had a stably high level in many areas.

“We in Uzbekistan highly value the traditional ties of friendship and cooperation, that have a long history and link our people. Uzbekistan is always open to using the huge potential of the bilateral and multilateral relations with Russia, which, unfortunately, are not always used fully and effectively,” Islam Karimov said.

“This is why we consider today’s meeting of the intergovernmental commission as a good opportunity to identify the strategically important directions of cooperation,” the head of the state said.

The bilateral trade and economic cooperation between the two states covers areas like machinery building, energy, electro technology, pharmaceuticals and others. Among the priority areas of relations are oil and gas, mining and metallurgical industries. There is a large potential for expansion of cooperation in telecommunications, chemical, construction, textile and tourism sectors.

In accordance with bilateral agreement, the Uzbek-Russian intergovernmental commission is functioning, which jointly determines the opportunities for development of relations in prospective areas.

At the meeting in Oqsaroy, Sergey Ivanov expressed sincere gratitude to the President of Uzbekistan for the warm welcome, emphasizing the interest of Russia in further expansion of bilateral relations with Uzbekistan in various fields.

During the talks, Islam Karimov and Sergey Ivanov also considered preparation of the upcoming visit of the President of Uzbekistan to Russia and other issues of mutual interest.