Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) – On 14-15 September 2020, in the capital of Tajikistan, Dushanbe, a scientific and practical conference "The contribution of the Leaders of Uzbekistan and Tajikistan to strengthening friendship, good neighborliness and trust, opening a new page of the Tajik-Uzbek strategic partnership" will be held.

The event is organized by the National Academy of Sciences of Tajikistan together with the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

The Uzbek delegation, including leading experts from ISMI, CEIR, IACMO, Center "Mano", UWED, Tashkent State Institute of Culture and Arts, State Conservatory, will be headed by the First Deputy Speaker of the Legislative Chamber of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Academician Akmal Saidov

During the conference, together with well-known scientists from research and higher educational institutions of Tajikistan, it is planned to analyze the results in deepening bilateral relations achieved thanks to the political will, open and effective foreign policy of the Leaders of Uzbekistan and Tajikistan.

The program of the two-day conference envisages successive thematic sessions covering issues of interaction in the field of politics and security, trade and economic relations, investment cooperation, the development of transport communications and tourism, the expansion of cultural, scientific and educational contacts.

The urgency of convening such a representative conference is due to the high dynamics of the processes of building the Uzbek-Tajik strategic partnership in modern conditions.

Today, relations between the two countries are developing along an ascending trajectory, relying on a solid foundation laid thanks to the efforts of the Presidents of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev and Tajikistan, Emomali Rahmon. Regular contacts at the highest level made it possible to form trusting channels of communication and establish new mechanisms of institutional interaction.

In March 2018, for the first time in 27 years, the state visit of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan to the Republic of Tajikistan took place, and in August of the same year, a reciprocal state visit of the Tajik side at the highest level. At the talks in Dushanbe and Tashkent, the leaders of our countries made breakthrough decisions on the entire agenda of bilateral relations.

In total, within the framework of two state visits, 54 documents were signed on the development of bilateral cooperation in the political, trade and economic, transport and communication, energy spheres, in the field of standardization, metrology and certification, agricultural and food security, education, youth policy and other areas.

Agreements were reached on trade, economic, cultural and humanitarian cooperation between the regions of our countries, in particular Surkhandarya and Sughd regions.

A long-awaited event for the peoples of our countries was the signing of the Treaty on the State Border and the intergovernmental Agreement on mutual trips of citizens, allowing residents of both states, especially border areas, to freely visit each other. Truly significant events were the abolition of the visa regime between the countries in 2018 and the opening of 17 checkpoints. As a result, in 2019, the number of Tajiks who visited Uzbekistan reached a record 1.5 million people, and 1.2 million people from Uzbekistan managed to travel to Tajikistan. The state border has really turned into a border of friendship, good neighborliness and mutually beneficial cooperation.

During the visit to Tashkent, the Republic of Uzbekistan and the Republic of Tajikistan signed a Strategic Partnership Agreement, which serves to further all-round development and strengthening of relations of traditional friendship, good-neighborliness and cooperation between the two states and peoples, and will also contribute to ensuring peace, stability, security and sustainable development. in the Central Asia region.

In order to implement the agreements reached as soon as possible, 4 meetings have been held at the level of prime ministers over the past two years. At the same time, intergovernmental negotiations are organized not only in the capitals, but also locally - in Ferghana, Termez and Bekabad.

Meetings and consultations at the level of foreign ministers and their deputies are held on a regular basis. For four years, 22 meetings of the foreign ministers of the two countries have been held.

Inter-parliamentary groups of the Senate and the Legislative Board of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan for cooperation with the Majlisi Oli of the Republic of Tajikistan were formed. In 2018-2019, 2 visits of the heads of both chambers of the parliament of Tajikistan to Tashkent and 1 visit of the chairman of the legislative chamber of the Oliy Majlis of Uzbekistan to Dushanbe were organized.

Security cooperation is carried out through mechanisms such as consultations between the Security Councils, inter-parliamentary relations and inter-ministerial consultations. In light of the growing threats and challenges to regional security, the strengthening cooperation between the special services, law enforcement agencies and defense departments is acquiring special significance.

Today, there is a free trade regime between the countries. The favorable conditions created in recent years have contributed to the rapid growth of mutually beneficial trade and economic ties between the countries. At the end of last year, trade increased almost threefold and reached US$497 million. Despite restrictive measures related to the spread of coronavirus infection, it is planned to bring trade indicators to the target level of more than US$500 million this year.

Interaction in the field of transport can also act as a driver of economic development of the Central Asian region as a whole. Favorable geographical location and extensive transport infrastructure will open access to nearby foreign markets for all countries in the region.

The development of freight and passenger transportation by all types of rail, road and air transport will ensure not only the growth of trade, but also additional flows of tourists to the countries of the region.

At the same time, cultural and humanitarian ties between two closely intertwined ties of kinship of peoples are the spiritual bond that holds the entire structure of interstate relations, determining their nature and depth.

Today, a close exchange of research and educational institutions of the two countries has been established, various joint events are actively being carried out. This conference, which brought together the potential of the intellectual elite of Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, is intended to make a scientific contribution to the assessment of the medium and long-term prospects of bilateral relations.

The format of this scientific and practical conference is envisaged to turn into an important discussion platform. Based on the planned discussions, additional ideas and recommendations will be proposed on priority areas and targets of the Uzbek-Tajik strategic partnership, filling interaction programs with practical measures and mechanisms for their implementation.

Within the framework of the conference, the participants of the meeting will be able to conduct informal communication within the framework of a special cultural program, get acquainted.