Consulate General of Russia in “Samarkand” and its importance for Moscow
| In recent years, Russia's special look at the countries of the region and its turn towards the east has made the Kremlin to increase its diplomatic centers in other countries of the region, especially in the city of "Samarkand", the second city of Uzbekistan. |
According to the correspondent of Fars news agency in Tashkent, the Russian Consulate General is going to be opened in the city of Samarkand this year.
The agreement between the government The agreement between the two countries was reached in October last year after high-level negotiations in Moscow. This will be the second diplomatic center of the Russian Federation in Uzbekistan.
Why does Russia need another representation in Uzbekistan, why will it be located in this city and what benefits will this bring to Uzbekistan?
Turning to the East
It is no secret that today Russia is changing its foreign economic strategy towards Asian countries. given direction The idea of turning to the East is not new, it existed even during the Soviet Union. But today, in the conditions of combined war with the West, these processes are accelerating and gaining more specific features.
This includes creating more economic, investment, cultural and humanitarian interaction with countries The area and organization of new transit and transportation corridors. Uzbekistan plays an important role in Russia’s foreign economic policy. Our countries intensify and strengthen their bilateral strategic partnership every year.
In particular, Russia is traditionally one of the top three countries in terms of trade exchanges and one of the leading investors in the economy. It is Uzbekistan.
Today, almost 3 thousand companies with Russian participation are operating in Uzbekistan. The total volume of Russian investment has exceeded the level of 13 billion dollars. Based on the planned plans and projects, including within the framework of interregional cooperation, these figures will grow rapidly. and provides transit of goods between Russia and promising markets in Asia.
In addition, the number of Russian tourists who prefer to spend their holidays in Uzbekistan is increasing every year. . According to the results of the New Year holidays, Uzbekistan was ranked among the most popular New Year’s destinations among Russians. In total, in 2023, about one million tourists from Russia visited Uzbekistan, which has almost doubled compared to the previous year. It becomes more necessary in Uzbekistan. The first city where another representative office will be opened will be “Samarkand”. Active talks on opening another Russian diplomatic mission in the fall of 2022 began. Then Yevgeny Ivanov, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia, said that the ministry wants to strengthen the country’s consular presence in countries where large Russian immigrants live and are popular among Russian tourists. At the same time, he stated that this country is considering the issue of opening a consulate general in Samarkand.
This city was not chosen for this mission by chance. After all, this city is not only the second largest city of Uzbekistan and one of the largest tourist centers in the world, but recently it has become an event center for holding important ceremonies of both Russia and Uzbekistan, as well as in the dimensions of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, the Benevolent Community and other international formats. Has become. That is why the 16th Eurasian Economic Forum “Verona”, which is one of the most important business dialogue platforms between Russia, the Eurasian Economic Union and the European Union, was held in the city of “Samarkand” in November of last year.
The agreement between the governments of Uzbekistan and Russia on the opening of the Consulate General of the Russian Federation in “Samarkand” was a certain motivation and action. This document was signed at the end of the negotiations between “Shavkat Mirziyoyev” and “Vladimir Putin” in “Moscow” in October 2023.
According to “Oleg Malginov”, the Russian ambassador in In December of last year, he stated in a gathering of reporters that the practical work of opening the Consulate General will begin in 2024. Also, a group of experts is going to arrive and select, among other things, a building to house the future diplomatic mission.
Facilities for citizens of Uzbekistan
According to “Bakhtiar Alam Jan F”, an independent political expert, the issue of opening the second Russian diplomatic mission in Uzbekistan is very important at the moment.
He stated: I believe that the Russian diplomatic mission should be opened not only in “Tashkend”, but also in “Samarkand”. By the way, it is the second largest city in Uzbekistan. This city is rapidly developing and becoming a tourist center. Therefore, such a need existed. Of course, this will help to further develop relations between Russia and Uzbekistan.
This expert is confident that this is a good opportunity not only for businessmen who do business in Samarkand region, But it also creates for our compatriots.
He said: A large number of our compatriots, especially the residents of Samarkand, go to Russia as labor migrants. Their number is constantly increasing. In addition, of course, the opening of the Consulate General creates a very good opportunity to attract investment and further increase trade between the two countries.
It should be noted that in one of the press meetings, “Oleg Russian Ambassador Malginov said that Moscow should also consider the issue of opening diplomatic points in other cities of Uzbekistan.
This Russian diplomat noted: We understand that for a country with a population like Uzbekistan, a The embassy is not enough. Sometimes we don’t have enough time to visit Ferghana Valley, Qalpakistan Valley and the south. A large number of our compatriots reside here, and there are also joint projects that need attention.
But in his opinion, this process will happen gradually. Maybe different formats can be used for this. As an example, the ambassador pointed to the opening of consular offices in other cities.
Russia is one of the biggest economic and commercial partners of Uzbekistan. The trade exchange of these two countries in 2023 is at the level of 9 billion and 800 million dollars.
Currently, more than 961 joint ventures with Russian investment are operating in Uzbekistan. The representative office of 64 Russian companies has been registered in Uzbekistan.
More than 560 partnership companies of Uzbek investors operate in various fields in Russia.
Russia recognized the independence of this country on March 20, 1992, and diplomatic relations were established between the two countries on the same day.
| publisher | Fars News |
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