MOSCOW, November 13 (RIA Novosti) - During a Kremlin meeting on Monday, the Russian and Uzbek presidents will sign a treaty on partnership and discuss the situation in Central Asia, a Kremlin source said Sunday.
"The signing of the Treaty on partnership will become the main event of the visit," the source said on the eve of Islam Karimov's official visit to Russia.
The source also said the presidents would discuss the expansion of economic ties between the two countries.
"Trade and economic ties are an important component of Russian-Uzbek partnership, showing positive dynamics recently," the source said.
According to the Kremlin official, bilateral trade grew 37% during seven months of 2005 compared with the same period of 2004, and reached $1.15 billion.
"If the trend continues, the volume of bilateral trade could surpass $2 billion in 2005," the source said, adding that Russia "occupies the first place in Uzbekistan's foreign trade."
