Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) - Prime Minister of Uzbekistan Abdulla Aripov held a telephone conversation with Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Alikhan Smailov. This was reported by the press service of the Government of Kazakhstan.

The Prime Minister of the Republic of Uzbekistan Abdulla Aripov congratulated Alikhan Smailov on his appointment to the post of Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

The parties expressed their readiness to further strengthen the strategic partnership in both bilateral and multilateral formats.

Alikhan Smailov said that the Government of Kazakhstan remains firmly committed to deepening strategic partnership with the fraternal Republic of Uzbekistan.

“We are determined to implement the previously reached agreements. I am sure that the outlined plans within the framework of the bilateral agenda of cooperation will be implemented by joint efforts,” Smailov said.

Uzbekistan is one of the largest trade partners of Kazakhstan. Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan account for about 70% of all regional trade in Central Asia. The volume of bilateral trade in 10 months of 2021 amounted to US$3.26 billion, which is 30% higher than in the same period in 2020. By the end of 2021, Uzbekistan may enter the top 5 largest trade partners of Kazakhstan.