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Russian premier discusses economic ties, transport cooperation with Eurasian counterparts

Russian port city of Sochi hosts meeting between heads of governments of Commonwealth of Independent States

Burç Eruygur  | 09.06.2023 - Update : 09.06.2023
Russian premier discusses economic ties, transport cooperation with Eurasian counterparts Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin ( Kremlin / Handout - Anadolu Agency )

ISTANBUL 

Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin discussed economic ties and transport cooperation with his Eurasian counterparts during a meeting on Thursday between the heads of governments of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) in the port city of Sochi. 

Mishustin first met with his Kazakh counterpart Alikhan Smailov, during which he said that mutual trade turnover between Russia and Kazakhstan is growing despite the presence of Western sanctions, with trade volume growth of more than 9% amounting to almost 716 billion Russian rubles ($8.7 billion), and that it is important to accelerate the creation of new production chains in industry, engineering, energy and transport infrastructure.

For his part, Smailov said Kazakhstan is looking forward to the development of the positive trend in bilateral trade, further saying that the accumulated volume of direct investments from Russia to Kazakhstan over the past 17 years has reached about $20 billion.

Mishustin later held a meeting with his Uzbek counterpart Abdulla Aripov, where he said that the increase observed in trade between Moscow and Tashkent is “not enough” despite its increase by a quarter to 612 billion Russian rubles ($7.4 billion) last year.

Mishustin further said that Russia is interested in promoting a number of projects in Uzbekistan, including the construction of a nuclear power plant, which he said would “give a new impetus to cooperation between industry and high technology.”

Meanwhile, Aripov said that Uzbekistan is interested in the formation of new international transport corridors with the participation of Russia, which he said would “allow our countries to open promising markets.” He also proposed to jointly form a new multimodal transport corridor with the inclusion of Belarus, Kazakhstan, Afghanistan and Pakistan.

In a later meeting with Azerbaijani Prime Minister Ali Asadov, Mishustin said he is certain that the International North-South Transport Corridor will compete with the Suez Canal, noting that Moscow considers transport and logistics as one of the promising areas in cooperation with Baku.

Mishustin further said that Russia "attaches special importance to the process of unblocking economic transport links in the South Caucasus” and is also “interested in peace, stability and prosperity in our common region."

For his part, Asadov said the political dialogue between Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin ensures the positive dynamics across the entire spectrum of bilateral cooperation between the two countries.

Mishustin also discussed trade and economic ties with Tajik Prime Minister Kokhir Rasulzoda, saying the two countries prioritize protecting their economic interactions “from illegal sanctions of the collective West."

"Russian investments in the economy of Tajikistan are increasing, domestic companies are actively working in the energy sector, digital economy, healthcare, tourism and a number of other industries," Mishustin said, further noting that they also pay attention to expanding interregional cooperation.​​​​​​​

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