OREANDA-NEWS. April 01, 2010.  The 12th session of the Uzbek-Russian intergovernmental commission for economic cooperation was held in Tashkent.

Opening the forum, Prime Minister of Uzbekistan, commission co-chairman Shavkat Mirziyoyev said the relations between the two countries were developing successfully in all directions.

Uzbekistan and Russia cooperate in areas like energy, airplane building, machinery building, transport and telecommunications, healthcare, pharmaceuticals, food and agricultural industries, etc.

The volume of trade between the two states comprised almost USD 4.5 billion last year.

More than 800 joint ventures with participation of Russian investments have been set up in Uzbekistan. In Russia, about 350 joint ventures operate.

Uzbekistan exports vehicles, food products, equipment, cotton fiber, ferrous and non-ferrous metals, plastic and other products to Russia.

At the session, the commission considered issues of increasing the bilateral trade volume, creation of new joint ventures and other topics.

“Uzbekistan is one of the leading trade partners of Russia,” Vice Chairman of the Russian government, commission co-chairman Sergey Ivanov said.

“Despite the global economic crisis, the trade between our states notably increased in 2009. Russia is interested in further strengthening of cooperation with Uzbekistan,” he added.