Baku, Azerbaijan, April 18

By Fikret Dolukhanov – Trend:

Uzbekistan and Tajikistan will hold joint military drills before the end of this year, Uzbek media reported on April 18.

According to the source in the Defense Ministry of Tajikistan, such drills will be held for the first time.

Currently, representatives of the defense departments of the two states are considering the appropriate date for the drills, the number of soldiers and officers, military equipment to be involved.

Working out of the combat missions can be conducted on the territory of several training grounds located in the territory of Uzbekistan and Tajikistan.

During the training, the states plan to work out the cooperation in the fight against international terrorism.

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Follow Trend on Telegram. Only most interesting and important news</s>Uzbekistan, Tajikistan to hold joint military drills for first time

Uzbekistan and Tajikistan will hold joint military drills before the end of this year, Uzbek media reported on April 18.

According to the source in the Defense Ministry of Tajikistan, such drills will be held for the first time.

Currently, representatives of the defense departments of the two states are considering the appropriate date for the drills, the number of soldiers and officers, military equipment to be involved.</s>Only a two-kilometer stretch of Tajikistan’s common border with Uzbekistan near the Farhod water reservoir still remains uncoordinated, a source in the Tajik government told Asia-Plus on April 19.

“The stretch is located at the junction of the borders of Tajikistan’s Sughd province and Uzbekistan’s Syrdarya region. There no any facilities or settlements in that area,” the source said.

According to him, the issue of that stretch would be officially solved during a state visit of Tajik President Emomali Rahmon to Uzbekistan, which is scheduled for early Autumn 2018.

Earlier, the Tajik-Uzbek border delimitation talks had been stalled since February 2009 after Tajikistan rejected Uzbekistan’s proposal to give up some disputed lands to the Tajik side on condition that Tashkent will gain full control of Farhod water reservoir along the two countries border.

The first border talks between Tajikistan and Uzbekistan after the three-year break took place in Dushanbe on Feb. 21-22, 2012. On April 24, 2015, officials of Tajikistan and Uzbekistan met in the northern Tajik city of Khujand to discuss issues around protecting common borders in 2014. In November 2016, a working group began considering solutions to definitively outline the 16 percent of the 1,332-kilometer border still under discussion.

During the visit of Uzbek Prime Minister Abdulla Aripov to Dushanbe that took place on Jan. 10, 2018, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan agreed to implement visa-free regime and other border-related measures. The regulations also provide for the building of new checkpoints along the border and the opening of several bus links to connect the two nations' towns and cities.</s>BUKHARA, Uzbekistan (Reuters) - Russia’s No. 2 oil producer Lukoil has started operations at a $3.4 billion gas processing plant at its Kandym gasfield in Uzbekistan, which is seen as central to its efforts to boost gas production and exports to China.

The Russian government said in a statement on Thursday that the gas processing complex, with a capacity of 8 billion cubic meters (bcm) per year, had been launched ahead of schedule.

Lukoil has not revealed any data on gas exports to China from Uzbekistan.

Lukoil also said on Thursday it has raised a $600 million loan to finance part of the cost of building the gas plant in Uzbekistan.

Lukoil is working in the country under a production-sharing agreement that accounts for a quarter of all of Uzbekistan’s gas output.

The company plans to double gas production in Uzbekistan to 16 bcm per year by 2020 from 8 bcm in 2017.

Uzbekneftegaz head Alisher Sultanov said last September that Uzbekistan had contracts to export up to 6 bcm of gas to Russia and up to 10 bcm to China per year.</s>ISLAMABAD, Apr 19 (APP):Pakistan and Uzbekistan on Thursday agreed to form a joint working group on trade and investment to boost bilateral

 trade volume.The agreement was made at a meeting between high-ranking Ministerial delegation from Uzbekistan led by Uzbek Minister for Foreign Trade Khodjaev Jamshaid and Secretary Commerce Mohammad Younus Dagha here.

 Uzbek delegation also included Chairman CCI of Uzbekistan, Adham Ikramov, Deputy Chairman of Association “Uztextile Industry”, Bahadir Alihanov, HoD, International Cooperation, Ministry of Foreign Trade, Azamat Yuldashev, Director on

 Production and Investment of JSC “Uzagrotechmash”(Agricultural Machinery), Murad Bekmirzaev,, Deputy Head of Marketing Department of JSC “Uzagrotechmash”(Agricultural Machinery) Alisher, and Embassy officials. During the meeting, both sides

 vowed to enhance trade relations between the two countries.

 It was resolved that all out efforts would be made to remove impediments hampering bilateral trade including lack of direct

 cargo links, safe and direct land route, removal of NTBs and efficient and effective banking channels.It was agreed that

 institutional mechanism between both the countries needs to be upgraded.

 The Secretary Commerce, Mohammad Younus Dagha proposed to form Joint Working Group (JWG) on Trade and

 Investment.

 The JWG would focus on exploring opportunities to enhance bilateral economic relations.

 The Uzbek Minister agreed to the proposal. Afterwards the dates and venue of the 1st meeting of JWG either in Pakistan

 or in Uzbekistan would be decided.</s>A number of contracts and agreements were signed between Uzbekistan and Mongolia, at the initiative of the Uzbek Embassy, Uzbek media reported on April 19.

Issues of cooperation were discussed during the meeting of the newly appointed Uzbek Ambassador in Mongolia Bakhtiyor Saidov with the government of Mongolia. A meeting was held with participation of representatives of major Mongolian companies. During the talks, representatives of companies were invited to Uzbekistan.

As a result, in less than a month, a delegation of a large company Nomin Holding from Mongolia, arrived in Uzbekistan.</s>Accompanied by a political entourage, Zarif is due to attend the 23rd ECO Ministerial Meeting in the Tajik capital of Dushanbe, announced Bahram Qassemi.

The Iranian foreign minister will also hold talks with senior Tajik officials and discuss ways to expand mutual cooperation, he added.

This is the second visit of Zarif to Tajikistan within the past few months.

In November 2017, the Iranian top diplomat visited the central Asian country as the first of its kind in the past couple of years.

Relations between the two countries took a nosedive in late December 2015 on the issue of the Islamic Movement of Tajikistan. While the Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan (IRPT) was considered by the Tajik government as a banned party, its leader Muhiddin Kabiri, who lives in exile, was invited to an international conference in Tehran, and this outraged the Central Asian state.

Tajik authorities said despite the fact that Kabiri was accused of organizing riots in September 2015, Iran invited him to the International Conference of Islamic Unity while he was seated next to the head of Tajikistan’s state-backed Council of Islamic Ulema and other members of the official delegation from Tajikistan.

Meanwhile, informed sources say the tension between the two countries goes back to earlier times and is in connection with the assets of Babak Zanjani, the Iranian billionaire who is in jail and was earlier sentenced to death.

Many believe Zarif’s visits to Dushanbe could be a serious step to mend Iran-Tajikistan ties.</s>ISLAMABAD - Pakistan and Uzbekistan discussed joint ventures for crop improvement through conventional and biotechnological approaches.

They also talked about sharing of knowledge regarding suitable agricultural technologies for adaption to climate change during a ministerial meeting between Federal Minister for National Food Security and Research Sikander Hayat Bosan and Republic of Uzbekistan State Committee Deputy Chairman Laziz Kudratov here on Wednesday.

Bosan said that both countries can exchange elite genetic resources of cotton, rice and wheat to develop high yielding hybrids seeds.

Bosan said both countries can share the list of livestock items for exchange.

The minister said the meeting discussed providing market access to each other’s livestock products. “Pakistan will seek Uzbekistan assistance in the areas of wool technology and turkey farming,” he said.

Uzbek side has previously shown interest for cooperation in the field of cotton and a draft memorandum of understanding was prepared on cooperation in the field of agriculture between two sides. The draft was shared with Uzbek side and an approval is awaited in this regard.

He further informed the delegation that prime minister also nominated Bosan as co-chairman of Pakistan-Uzbekistan Joint Inter-Governmental Commission in 2017.</s>China was scheduled to hold live-fire drills in the Taiwan Strait Wednesday, flexing its military muscle after warning Taipei about seeking independence or closer ties with Washington.

It is the first such exercise in the waterway since 2016, and it coincides with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen’s visit to Swaziland, one of the self-ruled island’s few remaining international allies.

The Chinese government has given scant details about the manoeuvres, with a Fujian province maritime safety administration statement merely saying last week that the day-long drills would start at 8:00 am (0000 GMT).

China’s Taiwan Affairs Office director Liu Jieyi said Monday the drill was “an action to safeguard the sovereignty and territorial integrity of our motherland”.

As she left for Africa on Tuesday, Tsai said Taiwan has “the confidence and determination to safeguard the country’s security”.

Relations between Beijing and Taipei have deteriorated since Tsai came to office in May 2016, largely because she has not embraced the position that Taiwan and China are part of one country.

China sees the island as a renegade part of its territory to be brought back into the fold and has not ruled out reunification by force.

“It is likely that these drills were planned months ago, but they are a useful warning to Taiwan and the US to not cross Chinese red lines,” Bonnie Glaser, China expert at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies, told AFP.

Tsai’s Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is traditionally pro-independence and her newly appointed premier William Lai is a long-standing independence advocate.

After the Communist Party-led parliament paved the way for Xi Jinping to rule for life, the Chinese president warned on March 20 that “all acts and tricks to separate the country are doomed to fail”.

That same day, China’s sole operational aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, sailed through the Taiwan Strait.

“The mainland must create military pressure to let the other side know that no matter whether it happens gradually or they really declare independence, it is totally unacceptable,” Song Zhongping, military commentator for Hong Kong-based Phoenix TV, told AFP.

Song, a former lecturer at a People’s Liberation Army university, said the Liaoning is likely to participate in Wednesday’s drill, as it “has a lot of advantages for resolving the Taiwan problem.”

“It can effectively acquire control of the airspace, and even effectively block the US-Japanese alliance’s strategy for intervening in China’s plan to settle the Taiwan issue,” he said.

A flotilla including the Liaoning has conducted combat training in the South China Sea in the past few days, the navy said on Tuesday.

Beijing has stepped up military patrols around Taiwan and used diplomatic pressure to isolate Taiwan internationally since Tsai took office, with Panama switching allegiance to China last year.

The drill “is part of Beijing’s psychological warfare against Taiwan, and possibly a means to divert attention from Tsai’s visit abroad by compelling media to report on the military drills,” said J. Michael Cole, a Taipei-based senior fellow at the University of Nottingham’s China Policy Institute.

The planned drill could also serve as a signal to Washington, which sent an aircraft carrier through the disputed South China Sea last week.

Washington switched diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to China in 1979 but maintains trade relations with the island and is its main arms supplier.

Beijing protested last month after President Donald Trump signed a bill allowing top-level US officials to travel to Taiwan.

China said the US should stop official exchanges with Taiwan to avoid “damaging Sino-US relations”.
Tajikistan and Uzbekistan agree to hold military drills for the first time.