Japan, Uzbekistan sign deals worth more than $8.5 bln

By Muhammadsharif Mamatkulov

TASHKENT (Reuters) - Japan and Uzbekistan signed deals worth more than $8.5 billion on Sunday, including investment to explore new hydrocarbon reserves in the central Asian nation, Uzbek President Islam Karimov said after meeting visiting Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

Japan will finance around $5 billion of those deals, which also cover communications and transport projects, Karimov said.

One of the projects will see Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation (JOGMEC) explore new hydrocarbon reserves jointly with Uzbek state oil and gas company Uzbekneftegaz.

Uzbekistan has already announced plans to increase production of natural gas, although it has not disclosed how much it actually produces currently.

Another project will modernise a heating power plant generating electricity for the Uzbek capital Tashkent. Japanese firms will also build an ammonia and carbamide plant at Uzbek chemical company Navoiazot's site.

Before Sunday's deals, Japan had provided a total of around $3.5 billion in development aid and loans to various sectors of Uzbekistan's economy, Karimov said.

Abe is visiting the five former Soviet nations of Central Asia, the first trip in nine years by a Japanese premier to the region where Japanese companies are active and where both Russia and China are vying for influence.

Uzbekistan is the region's most populous nation with 31 million people and is a major producer of cotton, gold and natural gas.

"Today we discussed the three main directions of our cooperation - increasing the partnership of Japanese government organisations with private businesses for the sake of economic restructuring, preparation of highly skilled personnel ... and healthcare," Abe told a news briefing.

In neighbouring Turkmenistan, which holds the world's fourth-largest natural gas reserves, Abe oversaw on Friday the signing of deals worth over $18 billion, mainly in the chemicals sector and power station construction.

(Writing by Dmitry Solovyov; Editing by Susan Fenton)