I welcoming remarks

participation in the infrastructure project implementation in the
Afghan 
territory, 
in 
particular 
in 
the 
transport 
and
communications sphere, are being studied.
In education we assist in training specialists majoring in
diverse realms.
The decision of Shavkat Mironovich Mirziyoyev, the
distinguished President of Uzbekistan, to establish the Office of
the Special Representative of the President of the Republic of
Uzbekistan for Afghanistan proved Uzbekistan’s priority
attention to the enhancement of cooperation with Afghanistan.
In conclusion, I would like to express the firm
determination of Uzbekistan to continue the policy aimed at the
consolidation of friendship and constructive cooperation with all
foreign countries on the basis of the principles of mutual respect,
equality and consideration of each other’s interests.
Uzbekistan will continue to support the constructive steps
taken by the international community to address the Afghan
problem, restore the economy, and the social infrastructure of the
country within this strategy.

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88
Speech by Shamil Burnashev, Deputy Chairman of the State
Committee of the Republic of Uzbekistan for Investments
Allow me to greet all participants of the conference on the
hospitable land of Uzbekistan, and express gratitude for your
participation. I am convinced that the proceedings of this
conference will help us to reveal new facets of regional
interaction.
For Uzbekistan that borders with all the countries of
Central Asia, the development of the transport and
communication system of the region is among other priorities of
foreign policy as well as trade and economic areas.
The region has long served as a bridge between Asia and
Europe via the Great Silk Road, which contributed to the
establishment of new cities, exchange and formation of cultural
values, and the trade development. Caravans of history laid that
rich legacy.
Uzbekistan stands for the further development and
strengthening of interregional cooperation by taking into account
the growing geopolitical and geostrategic importance of Central
Asia in the world. We are optimistic about comprehensive
cooperation among the countries of Central Asia aimed to
promote stability and sustainable development of the region as a
whole.
Objective factors are the lack of access to international
maritime communications, a high share of transportation costs in
the price of goods like finished goods with high added value. It
encourages Central Asian countries to pay greater attention to the
advancement of infrastructure, transport and logistics.
A big step has been taken in the development of regional
transport and communication systems, and many agreements
have
been
achieved,
infrastructure
projects
have
been
successfully implemented in recent years.

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89
The Agreement on the Establishment of the International
Transport and Transit Corridor between the Governments of the
Republic of Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, the Islamic Republic of
Iran and the Sultanate of Oman, the so-called Ashgabat Treaty,
has entered into force. The first meeting of the working group
was held in March this year, and now I want to emphasize its
practical significance and opening prospects. Further specific
directions have been determined during that meeting. Practical
measures are being implemented on them.
A promising project of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan
railway line construction, which is of great importance for the
development of the entire Central Asian region, deserves special
attention. Everyone knows about the construction of the Angren-
Pap railway line with a 19.2-kilometer tunnel. It made it possible
to connect the Ferghana Valley with the rest of the Republic’s
regions. In turn, it also became one of the connecting elements of
the above-mentioned project.
The opening of the M-39 highway section between
Tashkent
and
Samarkand
can
be mentioned
among
the
implemented projects. It runs through the territory of Kazakhstan
and reduces the travel time between the regions of Uzbekistan.
An international intermodal logistics center has been
created and is successfully operating on the Navoi Airport. The
project was implemented jointly with Korean Air.
The sphere of transport communications to a certain
extent indicates the level of a country’s development. The nations
of Central Asia have not yet fully used the existing solid
potential. They need to systematically and consistently increase
cooperation in the area. Extensive attraction of investments into
reconstruction, modernization, renewal of roads and railways,
development 
of 
cooperation 
in 
the 
customs 
sphere,
harmonization of national legislations in the countries of the
region in logistics are seen as important and necessary actions.

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The states of Central Asia have consistently been
integrating into the world economy. The volume of mutual trade
with nations in other regions has been growing. The Central
Asian countries have been enjoying sustainable economic
growth. The share of industrial products and services is steadily
increasing in the economies that used to be specialized in just the
production of raw materials. In these conditions transport
capacities should correspond to the rates of economic growth and
even outstrip them.
The interest as well as demand is growing for cargo
transportations through the countries of Central Asia both in
Europe from Southeast Asian nations and back, and towards the
Persian Gulf.
The expansion of Uzbekistan’s transit potential will
contribute to the development of an important connecting artery
among the Central Asian countries. For this purpose, the
republic’s ministries and agencies in charge spearhead consistent
works aimed at improving and creating even more attractive
conditions for cargo owners.
At the same time, it is necessary to remember the existing
problems of transit, logistics as a whole and foreign trade, which
have a complex character. What is needed is joint efforts both by
the state with the private sector, and of the countries in the region
and 
their 
entrepreneurs 
to 
address 
these 
issues.

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