Speech at Russian-Uzbekistani Talks in Expanded Format.Part 1
January 23, 2009
Tashkent, Uzbekistan
Выступление на российско-узбекистанских переговорах в расширенном составе.
23 января 2009 года
Узбекистан, Ташкент
PRESIDENT OF RUSSIA DMITRY MEDVEDEV: Thank you very much, [President of Uzbekistan] Islam Abduganievich [Karimov].
Dear colleagues, the detailed analysis the President of Uzbekistan gave has freed me, I think, from going back over all the various nuances of our relations, all the more so as they are so diverse and cover such a broad range of areas. But there are some key aspects I would like to say a few words about in order to make several affirmations.
First of all, the kind of high level of understanding and cooperation that Russia and Uzbekistan have are more commonly qualified as strategic partnership. I see this not as an abstract formula but as a very concrete reflection of our perceptions and expectations of each other, and also as a term that describes the level of confidence we have in each other.
Yesterday, at dinner with Islam Abduganievich, we discussed foreign policy in the world today and the impact it has on domestic affairs, and we came to what I think was the shared conclusion that policy is often shaped by one factor at the expense of another. I am thinking here of the two factors that are interests and confidence. It is my firm conviction that a rational foreign policy and a rational, correct and just domestic policy are possible only if both factors are present at once. I think that this applies fully to the relations that bind Uzbekistan and the Russian Federation today. These relations are built on trust, while at the same time taking into account the national interests that our respective countries and their leaders naturally pursue.
We have many common undertakings and share many common concerns. Today, and yesterday too, we discussed international affairs, as Islam Abduganievich said, and in particular the situation in Afghanistan. To give the full picture, we discussed the situation in Pakistan too, because it is not possible to examine the establishment and development of a modern political system in Afghanistan in isolation from the context of normalising relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan in their border regions, setting up the appropriate international mechanisms and so on.
We spoke about the need to ensure that these issues are resolved on a collective basis. I think in this respect that various formats can be used for discussing the situation in Afghanistan, in particular those that Islam Abduganievich mentioned. Other recent decisions and formats can be used too, such as a conference under the aegis of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.
We also discussed the situation in Central Asia in general. This is a key region, a region in which diverse processes are taking place and in which the Russian Federation has crucially important work to do to coordinate our positions with our colleagues and help to find common solutions to the most complex problems. I think that our exchange of views on international issues was very productive and interesting.
Looking at our bilateral relations, they are rich in substance. To start with our economic relations, we have made headway of late in boosting trade between our countries, and it is a lot higher now than it has been at any time over these last years, over the 15 years since our countries gained their independence at least. But both Islam Abduganievich and I agree that this increase is not the limit and that there is still room for growth. We can certainly enrich our trade relations with the new projects in the different areas that were mentioned just now. Particularly important are the energy projects, and I think no one would disagree with this. Our energy cooperation covers a diverse range of areas: relations between our leading companies in gas sales, planning and laying new gas pipelines, and cooperation between our regions, for which we also have a set of the relevant international decisions.
Loading...
6:20
Д.Медведев.Выступление.23.01.09.Part 2by niknikolay1,402 views
Gosudarstva Kirgistan net
megauzbekistan 1 year ago