TASHKENT: Uzbekistan and China harped on the need to hit the ground running on the construction of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railroad., Trend reports. The discussion took place during a meeting between President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev with a delegation of the National People's Congress of China headed by Chairman of the Standing Committee Zhao Leji. During the meeting, the sides noted the highest level of Uzbek-Chinese relations and all-round strategic partnership achieved in recent years. Both parties emphasized that the outcomes of the high-level talks held on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Astana will give a new impetus to the expansion of multifaceted cooperation between the two countries. China's expressed readiness to support Uzbekistan's socio-economic reform program, especially in poverty reduction, as well as plans to adopt strategic cooperation programs in infrastructure development, industrial cooperation, agriculture, and green energy. The part icipants also noted that the second Forum of Regions will be held next year. Both sides discussed issues of opening branches of Chinese universities, expanding cooperation in vocational education, and supporting the Confucius Institute in Uzbekistan. The second Educational Forum is scheduled to be held next year. The officials reviewed cultural and tourism exchange and the need to further expand inter-parliamentary interaction, intensify exchanges between parliamentarians, and study the experience of lawmaking activities to support the ongoing reforms. At the end of the meeting, both countries expect to adopt a road map for the implementation of measures aimed at deepening cooperation between the parliaments of the two countries. Meanwhile, Uzbekistan's foreign trade turnover volume with China amounted to $5 billion from January through May 2024. Source: Trend News Agency