President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev attended ceremonies marking the opening of a number of facilities as part of Mirziyoyev’s state visit to Kazakhstan on Aug. 8, News.Az reports citing Astana Times.
Akorda press service reported that the presidents participated in the official opening ceremonies of the Mukhtar Auezov South Kazakhstan University branch in Chirchik and the Tashkent Institute of Irrigation and Agricultural Mechanization Engineers branch in Almaty via videoconference.
During the ceremony, Kazakh Minister of Science and Higher Education Sayasat Nurbek and Uzbek Minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovation Kongratbay Sharipov reported on bilateral cooperation in science and higher education.
Tokayev and Mirziyoyev also witnessed the arrival of the container train on the China-Kazakhstan-Uzbekistan route from Xian to Tashkent.
Kazakh Minister of Transport Marat Karabayev and Uzbek Minister of Transport Ilkhom Makhkamov reported on the ongoing joint work to expand the transport and transit capabilities of the two countries.
“As part of the agreements reached in Khiva in April on the organization of freight transportation on the China-Kazakhstan-Uzbekistan route and the development of the Trans-Afghan route, accelerated delivery of goods was organized. The container train covered a distance of 4,486 kilometers in a record five days. The freight train was sent from the terminal in the port of Xian through the territory of Kazakhstan to Tashkent,” the statement reads.
The shortest time for cargo transportation was ensured due to Kazakhstan’s terminal capabilities in China and the consistent interaction of the railway administrations of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan to expand the border infrastructure. Last year, the volume of cargo transportation between the countries exceeded 31 million tons, an increase of 17.2% compared to 2022.
