Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan move to boost ties

TURKMENABAT, Turkmenistan – Turkmenistan has unveiled a monument to the late leader of neighbouring Uzbekistan, a move that comes as the two ex-Soviet Central Asian are moving to bolster ties.

Turkmenistan’s President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov has hosted his Uzbek counterpart Shavkat Mirziyoyev on a two-day visit that began Monday.

On Tuesday, they opened a new bridge across the Amu Darya River and unveiled a monument to late Uzbek President Islam Karimov in the city of Turkmenabat on the border with Uzbekistan.

The visit to Turkmenistan is the first foreign trip for Mirziyoyev, elected in December to succeed Karimov who died in September.

During Monday’s talks, the resource-rich nations agreed to co-operate in exporting electricity to Afghanistan and Pakistan and work together to develop trans-Caspian transport routes to South Caucasus and further on to Europe.