Iranian President Mohammad Khatami on 28 April ended a three-day visit to Uzbekistan during which he and his Uzbek counterpart Islam Karimov discussed the impact on their respective countries and Central Asia in general of the war in Afghanistan and the U.S. military presence in the region, which Khatami described as \"humiliating\" and a source of concern to Tehran. The two presidents discussed the prospects for bilateral cooperation, including in the reconstruction of Afghanistan, which Karimov said are \"very broad.\" They also pledged to upgrade Uzbekistan\'s transport infrastructure to enable Uzbekistan to export goods via the Persian Gulf and Iran to ship goods via Uzbekistan to China. In a joint statement signed at the end of their talks, they also vowed to cooperate in the fight against terrorism, organized crime, and drug trafficking. (Interfax)