Honorable Mikhail Efimovich!
Honorable Alexey Vladimirovich!
Honorable colleagues!
It is a great honor for us to host the delegation of the Russian Institute for Strategic Studies in Tashkent today. We are pleased to welcome you to our Institute and sincerely greet all participants of this event.
Taking this opportunity, I sincerely congratulate His Excellency the Ambassador of the Russian Federation to the Republic of Uzbekistan on the commencement of his work in this responsible position. I am confident that your activities will contribute to the further strengthening of the bonds of friendship and comprehensive strategic partnership between our countries.
In this regard, it is particularly gratifying to note the consistent development of expert contacts. This is already the third meeting this year between IICA and RISS. Such regularity of contacts clearly confirms that a stable dialogue has been established between our institutes, based on mutual interest and a desire to develop a fruitful partnership. In February of this year, IICA and RISS signed a Joint Action Plan for 2025–2026, and it is especially important that our meetings are becoming a practical embodiment of this document.
Today’s meeting takes on special significance in the year marking the 20th anniversary of the Treaty on Allied Relations between the Republic of Uzbekistan and the Russian Federation. It is noteworthy that the signing of the Treaty in 2005 coincided with the period when Mikhail Efimovich served as Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation, which adds additional symbolism to our meeting today. The visit of the RISS delegation is timed to this anniversary, further emphasizing the strength and strategic nature of our bilateral relations.
Honorable participants!
The comprehensive development of ties with Russia remains one of the key foreign policy priorities of Uzbekistan.
Russia is a strategic partner of our country, and our cooperation has been elevated to the level of comprehensive strategic partnership.
Over the past eight years, 24 mutual high-level visits have taken place, providing unprecedented momentum to our interaction. Truly historic were the visit of President Sh. M. Mirziyoyev to Russia in October 2023 and the visit of President V. V. Putin to Tashkent in May 2024.
Trade and economic cooperation is actively developing. Today, Russia is Uzbekistan’s leading foreign economic partner. Over the past seven years, the volume of mutual trade has increased 2.5 times and reached $11.6 billion by the end of 2024. In January–August 2025 alone, trade turnover reached $9 billion. At the same time, the structure of trade has undergone qualitative changes, with nearly 70% now accounting for high value-added products. The goal set by the leaders of our countries is to increase trade turnover to $30 billion.
Joint projects are being successfully implemented across the industrial, energy, chemical, agricultural, mechanical engineering, and other sectors. Among the key projects is the construction of a small-scale nuclear power plant in the Jizzakh region. As President Sh.M. Mirziyoyev noted, this project is “vital” for the country’s future economic development and will constitute a strategic contribution to its energy security.
Cooperation in humanitarian and educational spheres is also developing intensively. Uzbekistan is a leader among CIS countries in terms of the total number of branches of Russian universities, which has now reached 15. To date, the number of joint educational programs between Uzbekistan and Russia has approached 400.
A unique mechanism for interaction has been established between our countries – the annual Educational Forum and the Interregional Conference of University Rectors. Uzbekistan has no such formats with any other partner.
The development of tourism cooperation is also a priority in strengthening humanitarian ties between Uzbekistan and Russia. Over the past few years, the number of Russian tourists visiting Uzbekistan has increased fivefold, reaching 870,000 in 2024. Thus, they take the 4th place in terms of visits to the republic.
In May 2025, the “Days of Russian Culture” in Tashkent and Samarkand were held with great success, further highlighting the special nature of humanitarian ties between our countries.
Today, September 26, the Russian Arts Festival “World of Arts” will conclude with a grand gala concert, “Opera Masterpieces,” at the Uzbekistan International Forums Palace. These vibrant cultural events provide a clear demonstration of the close and trusting ties between our peoples.
We also actively cooperate within multilateral frameworks such as the CIS, SCO, and EAEU. In October, the second meeting of leaders in the “Central Asia – Russia” format will be held in Dushanbe. In the run-up to this event, on October 6, IICA and the Gorchakov Fund will organize a Forum of Think Tanks.
In October this year, a summit of the CIS heads of state will be held in Dushanbe, on the sidelines of which the second meeting of the leaders in the Central Asia–Russia format will take place.
On the eve of the summit, on October 6 this year, the Central Asia–Russia Forum of Analytical Centers will be held, organized by MICA in cooperation with the Gorchakov Foundation.
We believe that this format has great potential and could contribute to giving additional dynamics and substance to joint work on the development of multilateral cooperation between the Central Asian region and Russia.
Honorable colleagues!
The topic of our round table is "Promising areas of cooperation between Uzbekistan and Russia in Central Asia." We will focus on the key areas of cooperation between the countries of the region and Russia.
The agenda includes issues of economic development and industrial cooperation, energy and transport connectivity, labor migration, humanitarian and educational interaction, regional security challenges, as well as multilateral cooperation within existing frameworks.
I am convinced that today’s discussion will enable us not only to exchange expert assessments, but also to develop specific proposals that will be useful in the run-up to the upcoming summit of our leaders.
I wish all participants productive work and a lively exchange of views.
Once again, welcome to Uzbekistan.
Thank you.
