Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbaev and Uzbek President Islam Karimov agreed in a telephone conversation on 3 March to establish a working group to lay the groundwork for a free-trade zone

Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbaev and Uzbek President Islam Karimov agreed in a telephone conversation on 3 March to establish a working group to lay the groundwork for a free-trade zone, Khabar and UzA official news agencies reported. In line with Nazarbaev's recently stated intention to create a union of Central Asian states, the two presidents decided that deputy prime ministers from the two countries will begin drafting an agreement to establish a free-trade zone, Khabar reported. A working group led by the two deputy prime ministers will examine ways to harmonize economic and financial legislation in order to boost trade ties. The two presidents also agreed on the need for joint efforts to combat extremism and terror, as well as the need for consultation in resolving the region's water-use difficulties.