GERMANY SEES "MAJOR COMMON INTERESTS" WITH UZBEKISTAN.

Completing a two-day visit to Uzbekistan, German foreign minister Klaus Kinkel said he agreed with President Islam Karimov that the two countries have "major common interests." Noting "Uzbekistan’s important geopolitical position," Kinkel said that Germany would assist Uzbekistan in establishing closer relations with European Union countries. Karimov described Germany as a "priority partner to Uzbekistan both economically and politically" and endorsed permanent German membership of the U.N. Security Council. The two noted the fast growth of bilateral trade from negligible levels to more than one billion marks last year. (Interfax, Western agencies, May 29 through 31)

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