"The level of economic relations between Israel and Uzbekistan is below the existing potential," Ambassador of the Republic of Uzbekistan to Israel Farhod Khakimov said at the briefing held on the occasion of the 16th anniversary of the independence of Uzbekistan and the upcoming elections of the President of the country, newsru.co.il reported.

Opening the briefing, Ambassador spoke about Uzbekistan’s achievements over the 16 years of independence. He said that immediately after gaining independence, the government of Uzbekistan started to develop the programmes of economic, social and political reforms intended to ensure gradual development of Uzbekistan during the transition period. The government institutions were created in the country, judicial reforms were implemented, a social programme and a programme of staff preparation were developed and implemented. Khakimov noted that the total investments in education comprised some US$5 billion, and today the financing of the educational sphere makes up about 12% of the GDP.

Ambassador also noted that the whole Post-Soviet period in Uzbekistan could be divided into two phases of development: from 1991 to 2000 and from 2000 to 2007. During the first phase, the government managed to tackle two important tasks – fully satisfy the state’s demand for electric power and the population’s demand for food products in the required amount. At this time, he emphasized, Uzbekistan was not only fully independently satisfying its demand for electric energy and foodstuffs, it has actually begun to produce for export.

In 2000, the reforms in the political system were launched. An upper chamber of parliament, the Senate, consisting of the representatives of all regions, was created. The law on political parties, intended to strengthen the role of political movements in the administration of the state was passed, and the punishment system of the country was reformed. "The law on the abolition of the death penalty has recently been passed," the Ambassador informed the media.

The country’s economic growth averages 7%, and since the beginning of the year 2007 the growth of the economy made up 10%. The total amount of foreign investments in the economy of Uzbekistan has made up US$100 billion.

Proceeding to the issue of Uzbek-Israeli relations, Farhod Khakimov noted that Israel was one of the first states to recognize the independence of Uzbekistan and open an embassy in the capital of the country. In general, the relations between the countries could be evaluated as positive, he said. The Ambassador reminded the participants of the briefing that the diplomatic relations between the two states turned 15 in March this year.

"At the same time, I should say, that the economic relations do not yet correspond to the existing potential. The volume of bilateral trade between our countries made up only US$30 million last year. We hope to attract more Israeli investors, particularly, within the framework of the privatization programme that envisages the sale of more than a thousand of industrial enterprises," Khakimov said.

He reminded that in 2004-2006 400 specialists from Uzbekistan studied in Israel within the frame of international cooperation between the centres of Mashav and Sinadko (transliterated). Also, more than 9,500 people attended trainings organized in Uzbekistan with the assistance of Israeli experts.

The Ambassador noted that a large community of former residents of Uzbekistan now resides in Israel. "Jews settled on the territory of Uzbekistan as early as 2,500 years ago. Today, still about 20,000 Jews live in our country. They take an active part in different spheres of the country’s life. We are pleased that the migrants from Uzbekistan to Israel support the contacts with their former homeland and keep the traditions," he said.

According to Ambassador, in 2005 some 3,000 tourists from Israel visited Uzbekistan. In 2006 the figure increased to 4,000, and in the first nine months of this year alone – it exceeded 5,500 people. "Less tourists go from Uzbekistan to Israeli, in part, due to the strict visa regime. But we are working on this issue," he emphasized.

"In general, I am optimistic about the future of our relations," Khakimov stressed.

Touching upon the issue of upcoming elections of the President of Uzbekistan, scheduled for 23 December 2007, the Ambassador said that according to the laws of the country, the candidates for the post could only be the citizens aged at least 35, and that have resided on the territory of the country for at least 10 years. The candidate can be put forward by a registered political party or a citizens’ initiative group. The candidate is also required to collect the signatures of at least 5% of the voters in different regions of the country. There are currently six candidates – five from each of the registered parties (socio-democratic, people’s-democratic, national-democratic, liberal-democratic and democratic), and one put forward by the citizens’ initiative group. One of the candidates is the current President of Uzbekistan Islam Karimov.

The Israeli politicians, diplomats and experts, including the head of the Institute of CIS countries Alex Zinker, the Director of the Department of the Eurasia in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Garry Koren, the member of the Knesset Robert Ilatov, who visited Uzbekistan together with the Knesset member Amnon Koen during the first visit of the parliamentary delegation, and political and public figures of Israel spoke at the briefing. Speaking of this visit to Uzbekistan, Ilatov said that during the trip not only the economic issues, but also the topics of security, particularly the problem of Iran and Islamic extremism had been raised. Zvi Magen, the Head of the Centre of Eurasian Studies of the Interdisciplinary Centre in Herzlia spoke of the unique strategic position of Uzbekistan and the key role the country plays in the conflict between the Western and Islamic worlds. He emphasized that Uzbekistan was one of the rare Muslim countries supporting good relations with Israel.