Uzbekistan open for investors

Improvement of Tatarstan-Uzbekistan relations was discussed at the meeting of Tatarstan President Mintimer Shaimiev and Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to the Republic of Uzbekistan Farit Mukhametshin on April 19 at the Kazan Kremlin.

The large Uzbekistan market is not widely used today, but many Western and Russian companies plan to integrate into the economy of the country. A number of agreements had been signed with Tatarstan, but due to objective reasons, non-convertible currency in particular, they did not work as good as wished, Farid Mukhametshin said. However, the last year visit to Tashkent of the Tatarstan delegation, headed by RT Prime Minister Rustam Minnikhanov, vividly revived bilateral relations, and after the recent meeting of Uzbekistan President Islam Karimov and Russian President Vladimir Putin the other questions have been settled. Currency conversion was implemented in Uzbekistan; in last year, trade turnover of Tatarstan and Uzbekistan made over $21 mln and is expected to increase in the future. There is a demand for production of Kazan Helicopters Plant and KamAZ in that country.

Mintimer Shaimiev highly estimated diplomatic activity of Farit Mukhametshin, who was appointed Ambassador in August 2003. Since 1995, F. Mukhametshin had been Plenipotentiary Representative of the Republic of Tatarstan in the Russian Federation.

Many oil and gas fields will be developed in Uzbekistan in the nearest future. Tatarstan will bring the latest technologies for geological prospecting.