Biggest Central Asian states to create new tourist route

By Azernews

By Abdul Kerimkhanov

Being the largest countries of the Central Asian region, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan conduct active bilateral consultations on various regional and international issues.

Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan intend to create a tourist route, Uzbek Ambassador in Kazakhstan Saidikram Niyazkhodzhaev said in an interview with Kazakh media.

He spoke about the main areas in which relations between the two countries will develop.

Niyazkhodzhaev believes that the creation of such a tourist route will significantly increase the tourist flow. He also considers that the people who come to Uzbekistan to study the Silk Road history should also visit Kazakhstan.

He noted that the Uzbek and Kazakh sides are working on this project, which conditionally has the name "Golden Square". He expressed the hope that this project will be successfully implemented in the near future.

Niyazkhodzhaev recalled that today there are six flights a week from Nur-Sultan to Tashkent, and the same number of flights is from Uzbekistan. In addition, there are up to 10 flights from Almaty to Tashkent and from Tashkent to Almaty.

Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan currently experience a rise in mutual economic ties. In January-June 2018, the trade turnover between the two countries increased by 52 percent, with Uzbek exports growth of 48 percent. Today, over 200 companies with Kazakh capital operate in Uzbekistan.

Earlier this year, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan agreed to take further measures to ensure the growth of trade turnover to $3 billion in 2018 and $5 billion by 2020. The countries also intend to increase the volume of rail, bus and air communication.