龙晓

6月5日，重庆市五届人大常委会第十八次会议第二次全体会议表决通过关于批准重庆市与乌兹别克斯坦塔什干州缔结友好市州关系的决定。此标志着重庆的国际“朋友圈”又多了一个朋友，总数达到47个，即全市（区县）共与外国47个省州市缔结了正式友好城市关系，与104个省州市建立了友好交流关系。

乌兹别克斯坦的农业强区和重要工业中心

乌兹别克斯坦面积44.89万平方公里，人口3372.5万人，位于中亚腹地，是“一带一路”沿线重要国家，上海合作组织重要成员国，中乌两国于2016年建立全面战略伙伴关系，在两国元首的战略引领和亲自推动下，中乌关系实现跨越式发展。

塔什干州位于乌兹别克斯坦东北部，处在天山山脉西部支脉和锡尔河之间，地貌以平原为主。成立于1938年，面积1.53万平方公里，人口252万，首府塔什干市。塔什干州地理条件优越，人口密集，交通、通讯网络发达，文化教育基础好，在该国各州中位列前茅，同时也是乌兹别克斯坦的农业强区和重要工业中心，综合实力位于全国之首。

塔什干州农业高度发达，支柱产业是种棉业、粮食作物种植业、园艺业、葡萄种植业、家禽养殖业等，同时也发展养蚕业，盛产棉花、谷物、瓜果和蔬菜等。这里的葡萄种植专家和园艺师非常有名，精美的葡萄园和别致的花园随处可见。

其自然资源也很丰富，蕴藏有褐煤、高岭土、有色金属（铜、铅、锌、铋、锂）、金、银以及稀有金属等矿产资源，有丰富的建材原料，还有大量的温泉和矿泉水。这里几乎集中了乌兹别克斯坦所有的黑色金属冶炼企业和大部分有色金属冶炼、机械制造、化工、电力、建材、轻工、食品等工业企业。

两地合作基础良好 发展前景广阔

早在1998年11月，重庆市就与塔什干州签署了經贸、人文合作协议，双方开始积极推动两市州建立正式友好市州关系。

2018年4月18日，中国重庆市—乌兹别克斯坦塔什干州经贸合作论坛在渝举行，重庆多家企业与塔什干州签署经贸项目合作协议。5月30日，塔什干州政府与重庆祥飞实业集团有限公司在京签署《乌兹别克斯坦丝绸圈产业链建设合资项目备忘录》。7月，乌兹别克斯坦驻华使馆致函重庆市政府外办，表示欢迎并邀请重庆企业参与塔什干州阿库尔罕区工业园建设。

2019年9月，重庆市副市长李明清率团访问塔什干州，推动两地在农业、投资等领域合作。

重庆与塔什干州合作基础好，未来发展前景广阔。两地正式结为友好市州，将进一步提升双方的友好务实合作水平。有利于重庆更好地发挥“三个作用”，促进重庆内陆开放高地建设和中西部国际交往中心建设。对拓展重庆国际合作伙伴关系网络，扩大国际交往“朋友圈”，打造人文交流新亮点，架起连接“一带一路”的友谊之桥、合作之桥、民心之桥，以及服务国家总体外交具有重要意义。

On June 5， the second plenary meeting of the eighteenth session of the Standing Committee of the  Fifth People's Congress of Chongqing passed a decision to agree to establish friendly city-province ties between Chongqing and Tashkent， Uzbekistan. It marks the addition of a new friend into Chongqing's international "friend circle"， reaching a total number of 47. That is， the whole city （districts and counties included） has formally entered into friendship relations with 47 provinces and municipalities， and established friendly exchanges with 104 provinces， states and municipalities.

A strong agricultural region and a major industrial center of Uzbekistan

Covering an area of 448，900 square kilometers with a population of 33.725 million， Uzbekistan is located in the hinterland of Central Asia as a major country along the Belt and Road and an key member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. China and Uzbekistan established a comprehensive strategic partnership in 2016. Under the strategic leadership and personal promotion of both heads of state， China-Uzbekistan relations have achieved leap-forward development.

Situated in the northeast of Uzbekistan between the Western Branch of Tianshan Mountains and Syr Darya and mainly consisted of plains in its landform， Tashkent Province was established  in 1938 with an area of 15，300 square kilometers， a population of 2.52 million and the capital city of Tashkent. Boasting superior geographical conditions， dense population， developed transportation and communication networks as well as refined cultural and educational foundation， Tashkent Province ranks at the top amongst all provinces in Uzbekistan and is also a strong agricultural area and a major industrial center， with comprehensive strength ranking first in the country.

Tashkent Province is highly developed in agriculture. Its pillar industries are cotton planting， grain crop planting， horticulture， grape planting， poultry farming， etc. at the same time， it also develops sericulture and produces abundant cotton， grain， fruits and vegetables. Indebted to renowned viticulturists and horticulturists， fine vineyards and distinctive gardens can be seen everywhere.

Also rich in natural resources， the province has a trove of lignite， kaolin， non-ferrous metals （copper， lead， zinc， bismuth， lithium）， gold， silver， rare metals and other mineral resources， rich building materials， as well as a large amount of hot springs and mineral water. Almost all the ferrous metal smelters in Uzbekistan and most of the countrys non-ferrous metal smelting， machinery manufacturing， chemical industry， power， building materials， light industry， food and other industrial enterprises are concentrated here.

Both sides enjoy a good foundation for cooperation and broad prospects

As early as November 1998， Chongqing Municipality signed an economic， trade and cultural cooperation agreement with Tashkent Province and both sides began to actively promote the establishment of formal friendly city-province relations.

On April 18， 2018， Chongqing， China-Uzbekistan Tashkent Economic and Trade Cooperation Forum was held in Chongqing， and many Chongqing enterprises signed economic and trade project cooperation agreements with Tashkent Province. On May 30， the Tashkent Provincial Government and Chongqing Sunfeel Industrial Group Co.， Ltd signed a Joint Venture Project MOU for the Construction of Uzbekistan Silk Circle Industrial Chain in Beijing. In July， the Uzbekistan Embassy in China sent a letter to the Foreign Affairs Office of the Chongqing Municipal Government， welcoming and inviting Chongqing enterprises to participate in the construction of the industrial park in the Akurhan District of Tashkent Province.

In September 2019， Li Mingqing， deputy mayor of Chongqing， led a delegation to visit Tashkent Province to promote cooperation in agriculture， investment and other fields between the two places.

With a sound foundation for cooperation， both sides embrace broad prospects for future development. The formal friendly city-province relation will further enhance the level of amicable and pragmatic cooperation between both sides. Its also conducive for Chongqing to better play the "three roles" and accelerate its drive as an inland open highland and an international exchange center in the midwest. It is of great significance， therefore， to expand Chongqings international partnership network， widen the “circle of friends” in international exchanges， create new highlights in cultural exchanges， set up a Belt and Road bridge for friendship， cooperation and people-to-people exchanges and serve Chinas overall diplomacy.