Uzbekistan, Tashkent, Feb.20 /Trend D.Azizov/
Bilateral defense cooperation, regional security and cooperation between Uzbekistan and NATO will be discussed during Latvian Defense Minister Artis Pabriks' visit to Tashkent on Feb. 20-24, a government source told Trend on Monday.
Pabriks will hold talks with Uzbek Defense Minister Kabul Berdiyev, Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs Gulyamov Latif, Foreign Minister Abdulaziz Kamilov and Foreign Economic Relations, Investments and Trade Minister Elyor Ganiev.
The transit of nonmilitary cargo to and from Afghanistan will be a main theme.
The parties will also consider other issues of Latvian-Uzbek cooperation, including long-term opportunities for economic cooperation.
The trade turnover between the two countries amounted to about $120 million per year in recent years, primarily due to transport and transit.
As previously reported, the Northern Distribution Network, in which both countries are key participants, continues to play an essential role not only in supplying NATO troops, but also in ending the Afghan campaign. About 30,000 containers were transported via Latvia and Uzbekistan as of 2009 when the network began operating.