A Kyrgyz delegation led by President of Kyrgyzstan Kurmanbek Bakiyev paid a two-day official visit to neighboring Uzbekistan on October 3-4, 2006. On the first day of the visit, Bakiyev met with his Uzbek counterpart Islam Karimov. Aside from the Uzbek President, Bakiyev also met with the speakers of the two chambers of the Uzbek parliament, Ilgizar Sabirov and Erkin Khalilov, and Uzbek Prime Minister Shavkat Mirziev. After negotiations held between the two presidents, an Agreement and Program of Economic, Scientific, Technological and Humanitarian Cooperation between Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan for 2007-2011 was signed. The Presidents issued a Joint Statement as well, where they emphasized the importance of joint actions against international terrorism and religious extremism.

Moreover, heads of departments and ministries of the two countries signed interdepartmental agreements, including agreements between the General Prosecutor’s Offices of Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan and between the Foreign Ministers on cooperation.

During the meeting, the two leaders emphasized the commonness of history, culture, and religion as a strong foundation for bilateral cooperation. Islam Karimov said at the press briefing, “We view the first visit of Kurmanbek Bakiyev as a very important and significant event in the history of bilateral relations”. Bakiyev, in turn, stated that “it is our fate to live together and support each other in hard times. We, Kyrgyz nationals, have to correct the mistakes of previous authorities. They led to the isolation of our country even within the region by not fulfilling taken obligations. Everything will be different now.”

It is noteworthy that only a few days earlier, in his address to the nation on September 28, President Bakiyev stated that Kyrgyzstan’s foreign policy had changed. According to him, from now on Kyrgyzstan will pay greater attention to strengthening relations with its neighboring states. “The main point in the foreign policy change is that we put our national interests in the first place. Therefore, we will pay more attention to strengthening relations with our neighbors – Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and China. Good relations with neighbors are a sine qua non for our safety and economic development.”

Security issues were also discussed during the negotiations. Bakiyev noted that the two sides had reached an agreement to conduct joint and coordinated actions of law enforcement bodies and border and security services, in order to ensure a stable situation at the Kyrgyz-Uzbek border. “National security depends on the country itself. It is silly to wait for help from “an uncle” overseas. Another issue is when two countries unite their efforts, and then results double,” said the Uzbek President. It is noteworthy that during the past several months, the Uzbek and Kyrgyz security services conducted several special operations during which the leaders of banned Islamic religious organizations were eliminated, including the leader of Islamic Party of Turkestan Rasul Akhunov.

An important factor is the final signing of an intergovernmental agreement on a non-visa regime between the two countries. According to the document, starting from January 1, 2007, Kyrgyz and Uzbek nationals can travel to each other’s countries without a visa if their visit lasts less than two months. This agreement was sent to the Parliaments of the two countries for ratification. On October 9, Kyrgyz Parliament members Alisher Sabirov and Muhamedjan Mamasaidov, who were part of the Kyrgyz official delegation to Uzbekistan, proposed to speed up the process of ratification of the non-visa regime with Uzbekistan during a parliamentary session.

The two leaders paid significant attention to economic cooperation. It was noted that the turnover between the two countries increased by 38 percent this year. A key issue in the negotiations was, of course, supply of natural gas. According to the Head of the Foreign Policy Department of the Presidential Administration Ermek Ibraimov, the two sides had agreed that Uzbekistan would supply around 30-40 million cubic meters of natural gas during this year at the previous price of $55 for 1,000 cubic meters. Several days later, the Uzbek state-owned company “Uzbekneftegas” said the rates for natural gas would double starting from 2007. However, the General Director of “Kyrgyzgas” Igor Chudinov said on October 13 that the final price for Uzbek gas will be known only after negotiations between “Kyrgyzgas” and “Uzbekneftegas” later this Fall.

Another very important economic agreement achieved by the Kyrgyz and Uzbek Presidents is construction of the “China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan” railway, said Ibraimov. At a meeting with EU Special Representative to Central Asia Pierre Morel on October 13, Kyrgyz Prime Minister Felix Kulov said the construction of the railway is under joint study by experts.

Some analysts say that despite existing disagreements between the two neighboring states, Bakiyev’s visit opens a new page in Kyrgyz-Uzbek relations, easing long-standing political tensions between the two countries. However, it remains to be seen whether there are more concurrent interests than insoluble problems.