Russia and Uzbekistan Strengthen Ties as Putin Pays State Visit

Uzbekistan and Russia signed business deals worth more than $27 billion on Friday as Russian President Vladimir Putin paid his first state visit to the former Soviet republic since long-ruling leader Islam Karimov died in 2016.

"Uzbekistan is our loyal ally and our strategic partner... We will do all we can to strengthen our cooperation," Putin said while meeting Uzbek counterpart Shavkat Mirziyoyev in the capital Tashkent.

"Dear Russian friends, welcome to Uzbekistan!" read billboards along the main roads of Tashkent where Russian and Uzbek flags flew side by side. 

At a business forum running parallel to talks, delegations representing the two sides on Friday signed deals worth $27.1 billion, according to the Uzbek economy ministry. 

Bilateral trade between the two countries jumped by more than a third year-on-year to $3.7 billion in 2017 as Uzbekistan shakes off nearly three decades of economic isolation under Karimov's rule.

Karimov, who died in 2016, maintained generally good relations with Moscow but was wary of the Kremlin's influence over Uzbekistan and the Central Asian region.

Mirziyoyev, who served as Karimov's prime minister for 13 years, has kept the authoritarian regime intact while also reversing some of his predecessor's most controversial policies.

Putin paid tribute to reforms launched by Mirziyoyev that have whetted the appetites of foreign investors eying new markets in a commodity-rich country of around 33 million people. 

The government has overhauled its foreign exchange policies, pledged to modernise its banking system and re-launched ties with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development that were effectively severed more than a decade ago. 

"We see how quickly and how fundamentally the situation in Uzbekistan is changing, how reforms are being organised and carried out," Putin said. 

This allows Russia and Uzbekistan to "develop relationships on a new level," he said.

Mirziyoyev in turn on Friday hailed "cooperation developing in all different directions." 

Among the deals drawing Tashkent closer to Moscow is a $11 billion project to build a nuclear power plant -- the first of its kind in Central Asia -- that is expected to go online by 2028 and provide around 20 percent of the country's power.  

Putin and Mirziyoyev were set to watch via video link a ceremony to mark the building of a power station by Russia's nuclear agency Rosatom in Uzbekistan's western Navoi region.

Putin suggested the plant could also help provide power to other countries in the region where energy deficits are common. 

Among agreements signed at the business forum was a memorandum of understanding between Russia's Lukoil energy major and Uzbek state energy company Uzbekneftgaz. 

Security was also high on the agenda during talks between the two heads of state.  

Under Mirziyoyev, Uzbekistan has declared its readiness to host talks between the Taliban and the government of Afghanistan, with whom Uzbekistan shares a border.

"It is in our common interest to normalise the situation in Afghanistan," Putin said, backing the initiative.