UNIPATH STAFF
Representatives of Uzbekistan and the Kyrgyz Republic signed a memorandum of mutual cooperation after delegations from the countries toured Uzbekistan’s Andijan region in October 2016.
Kyrgyz Deputy Prime Minister Muhammetkaly Abulgaziev led a delegation of state officials representing regions bordering Uzbekistan.
The group was greeted by Uzbek Deputy Prime Minister Adham Ikramov at the Dustlik (Friendship) border crossing in Uzbekistan’s Khodjaobad district near the city of Osh.
In a video played for the Kyrgyz delegation, an elderly woman said the visit by the high-ranking delegation represented a bridge to future Kyrgyz-Uzbek relations. “We are brotherly nations and should live in peace and harmony,” she said.
The meetings occurred after the death of Uzbek President Islam Karimov and the ascendancy of Prime Minister Shavkat Mirziyoyev, who said he wants to improve regional relations.
In mid-September 2016, weeks after Karimov’s death, Uzbek police ended their occupation of a Kyrgyz telecommunications tower on a disputed section of the border. Afterward, the government reopened to private citizens a long-sealed border crossing with the Kyrgyz Republic.
The memorandum of mutual cooperation was signed by the heads of the Andijan, Fergana and Namangan regions of Uzbekistan and the Osh, Batken and Jalalabad regions of the Kyrgyz Republic. They agreed to hold monthly meetings to discuss issues of mutual concern. Sources: Gazeta.uz, Eurasianet.com