On April 27, President Islam Karimov received the Japanese Minister of Commerce and Industry Akiro Amari in the Oqsaroy residence.

Welcoming the Japanese official, Islam Karimov stressed that Uzbekistan regards Japan as its reliable and close partner, and bilateral relations between the two states are developing in all spheres.

“We view your visit to Uzbekistan as a crucial ste p in the development of mutual cooperation. We highly appreciate Uzbek-Japanese relations that have been developing throughout the years of independence”, the President said. 

The relations between Uzbekistan and Japan are developing based on the Agreement on Friendship and Strategic Partnership and Cooperation, signed during President Islam Karimov’s official visit to Japan in 2002. In recent years the two countries have organized visits of their delegations, meetings, exhibitions, seminars and forums which stregthened the two countries’ economic, socio-political and humanitarian cooperation.            

The foreign policy between Uzbekistan and Japan is mainly based on their constant dialog. Uzbekistan is for Japan to be a permanent member of the UN Security Council. Japan supports the reforms in Uzbekistan and President Islam Karimov’s initative regarding the establishment of the Central Asian Common Market.

The foreign policy of Japan aims to develop its cooperation with Uzbekistan and other Central Asian countries and establish the “Silk road diplomacy” and “Central Asia + Japan” dialog mechanism for the purpose of strengthening security, stability, and commercial and economic relations.

Within this dialog the Uzbek and Japanese governments signed an “Action plan” and Agreement on Technical Cooperation last June.

Annually, Uzbek-Japanese and Japanese-Uzbek committees hold joint meetings and set stable cooperation directions and summarize the implemented projects in order to develop perspective plans in economic cooperation. It should be stressed that such well-known Japanese politicians as Yosiro Mori and Taro Aso and authorities of such corporations as Mitsui, Marubeni, Toshiba, Chori, Toyota and Shimidzu and large banks and financial establishment are members of the Japanese-Uzbek Committee. There are nine Uzbek-Japanese joint ventures in Uzbekistan. They primarily function in light industry, motor-car construction, trade, transportation and tourism. Twenty one large corporations of Japan such as the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Japanese Foreign Trade Organization (JETRO), Mitsui, Mitsubishi, Sumimoto, Itochu and Toyota have their offices in Uzbekistan. Over ten projects with the Japanese investment are being implemented in the Republic. Thus, the Japanese government has made available US$ 150 million worth of credit for the construction of “Tashguzar-Baisun-Kumqurgon” railroad. The production of “Isuzu” buses and trucks in Samarkand Car Plant is a clear example of successful joint projects. In summary, the Japanese investment in Uzbekistan has reached US$ 2 billion since diplomatic relations were established between the two countries.

It should be mentioned that humanitarian cooperation, especially in scientific and educational spheres, are developing dynamically. Over 800 Uzbek specialists were retrained in Japan on JICA program. In 2006 an office of the “Forum of Culture and Art of Uzbekistan” Foundation was opened in Japan, which is viewed as the logical continuation of the cultural cooperation between Uzbekistan and Japan.

The delegation, headed by the Japanese Minister of Commerce and Industry, includes representatives of JETRO, NEXI (Nippon Export and Investment Insurance), JOGMEC (Japan Oil, Gas and Metal National Corporation) and SMRJ (Japan Small and Medium Enterprise Corporation and Japan Regional Development Corporation). The delegation aims to get acquainted with opportunities of expanding cooperation in such spheres as insurance, mining, oil and gas, and small business.

Having thanked the Uzbek President for his warm welcome, Akiro Amari stressed that the potential of expanding the Uzbek and Japan economic relations are great and it is beneficial for both sides to use it.

During the negotiations the participants exchanged views on strengthening the wide-scale relations between Uzbekistan and Japan.