According to Dunyo news agency, the Ambassador of Uzbekistan Oibek Shahavdinov met with the Deputy Prime Minister of Montenegro for Foreign and European Affairs, Filip Ivanovic.
The parties discussed the further development of political dialogue while simultaneously expanding cooperation in the fields of trade, economy, investment, and tourism.
One of the central issues was the creation of an Intergovernmental Commission. Furthermore, possibilities for strengthening direct interaction between business representatives and implementing joint projects in areas such as agriculture, pharmaceuticals, healthcare, information technology, and digitalization were discussed.
Special attention was paid to improving the legal framework and expanding partnership in the fields of labor migration, education, science, culture, and vocational training.
Participants also spoke about the need to develop transport links between the two countries and increase mutual tourist flows. At the end of the meeting, Uzbekistan and Montenegro confirmed their readiness to continue working on specific initiatives aimed at strengthening mutually beneficial partnership.
The First Minister of Uzbekistan, Abdullah Aripov, and the First Minister of Kazakhstan, Olzhas Bektenov, held the twenty-third meeting of the Joint Intergovernmental Commission on Bilateral Cooperation in Aktau. At this meeting, they reviewed the progress of previously reached high-level agreements and determined priority areas for further interaction, according to the press service of the Government of Kazakhstan.
According to Bektenov, cooperation between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan continues to actively develop thanks to the political dialogue between the Presidents of Kazakhstan, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, and the President of Uzbekistan, Shavkat Mirziyoyev. He noted that this process serves as an example for the entire Central Asian region. The results of the state visit of the President of Kazakhstan to Uzbekistan last November confirmed the high level of trust between the two states.
Aripov emphasized that the meetings of the leaders of the two countries in Bukhara, Astana, and Turkestan set concrete tasks for the governments to deepen cooperation. He expressed readiness to ensure the implementation of these tasks, noting that the negotiations will contribute to the development of trade, investment, industry, transport, interregional connections, as well as cultural and humanitarian relations.
According to data from the Kazakh side, bilateral trade reached a volume of 4.8 billion US dollars in 2025. Furthermore, from January to May 2026, trade turnover increased by 37% compared to the previous year, amounting to 2.3 billion US dollars. Participants focused on implementing the Roadmap for Investment and Trade, which is valued at 7.8 billion US dollars. Projects under this roadmap are designed to diversify trade, expand product supplies, and attract new investments.
Industrial cooperation became another important topic of discussion. Currently, both countries are working on 80 joint projects worth more than 1.8 billion US dollars. Of these, 15 projects worth 227 million US dollars have been completed, creating about 5,000 jobs. Six other projects worth 102 million US dollars are in the implementation stage, and 59 initiatives totaling 1.5 billion US dollars are under consideration.
The First Ministers also analyzed the state of transport routes and logistics corridors. Railway freight transport between the countries increased by 16% in 2025, reaching 32.3 million tons. To increase transport volumes, the parties developed a joint action plan aimed at increasing the capacity of railway corridors from 35 to 60 million tons. Kazakhstan proposed modernizing cross-border railway infrastructure and opening additional border crossing points.
The meeting also highlighted positive trends in the use of Kazakhstan's maritime infrastructure and the development of road transport. Participants reported that the introduction of the E-Permit electronic foreign permit exchange system has allowed the number of permits to increase more than tenfold over the past four years, while reducing border crossing time from nine hours to 30 minutes.
The sides reaffirmed their commitment to continuing cooperation in water resource management, taking into account the interests of both countries. They also stressed the importance of expanding cultural and humanitarian ties, including joint efforts to include historical and cultural sites of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan in the transnational UNESCO nomination 'Great Silk Road: Fergana-Syr Darya Corridor.'
Following the expanded format of the meeting, the sides agreed to strengthen cooperation in industry, transport, transit, and other sectors of the economy. Aripov and Bektenov signed the protocol of the twenty-third meeting of the Joint Intergovernmental Commission on Bilateral Cooperation.
The Ambassador of Uzbekistan to Slovenia, Oibek Shahavdinov, held a meeting with the State Secretary in the Prime Minister's Office of Slovenia, Zdravko Počivalski. This was reported by the Dunyo Information Agency.
During the negotiations, the parties reviewed the current state and prospects for the further development of Uzbek-Slovenian interaction. The main focus was on trade, economic, and investment cooperation.
The diplomats also discussed issues of expanding direct ties between the business communities of the two countries, preparing joint projects, and promoting cooperation in promising sectors. At the end of the meeting, both sides confirmed their mutual commitment to strengthening Uzbek-Slovenian partnership and continuing practical dialogue to achieve common goals.
At the second meeting of the Expert Council of Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, held in the capital of Kyrgyzstan and titled 'Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan: Strategic Partnership and Prospects for Its Further Development,' a significant improvement in bilateral relations was noted.
The delegation from Uzbekistan participated in the event, which included leaders and specialists from leading analytical centers, relevant state agencies, and representatives of the business community. Eldor Aripov, Director of the Institute of Strategic and Interregional Studies (ISRS), addressed the participants, emphasizing the qualitative changes in ties between the two states.
According to Aripov, thanks to the strong political will of the leaders of both countries, all key and complex issues on the bilateral agenda have been successfully resolved. He called this a historic achievement, stating that for the first time in many decades, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan can focus their efforts not on overcoming the past, but on jointly shaping the future.
Economic interaction was also highlighted. Aripov noted that bilateral trade, which barely exceeded $100 million ten years ago, has now approached $1.2 billion, showing a growth of almost 40% in the last year alone. The parties aim to move from simply increasing trade volumes to deeper industrial cooperation and the creation of joint production capacities.
Regarding major infrastructure projects, Aripov emphasized the importance of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway line and the Kambarat-1 Hydroelectric Power Plant project. He stressed that these projects go beyond the bilateral agenda, as they are effectively shaping the new economic geography of Eurasia.
On the issue of transboundary water resources, Aripov reported that recent experience demonstrates a gradual decrease in the relevance of traditional division of interests between upstream and downstream countries. Instead, mutual consideration of interests and shared responsibility for common natural resources is observed.
Concluding his speech, Aripov noted the unprecedented growth in contacts between the citizens of the two countries. Over the last decade, the number of Kyrgyz citizens who visited Uzbekistan has increased more than sevenfold, reaching 3.3 million people last year, which was the highest figure among all incoming international tourist flows to the country.
