DUSHANBE, October 26, 2015, Asia-Plus – The Japan Time reports that Japan yesterday pledged ¥12.7 billion in official development assistance to Uzbekistan — ¥12 billion in loans and ¥700 million in grant aid — for the purpose of upgrading power-generation facilities in the country as well as medical equipment at hospitals

The agreement was reached on October 25 during a bilateral summit meeting in Tashkent between Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Uzbekistan President Islam Karimov.

For Uzbekistan, stabilizing the supply of electricity in rural areas is a matter of immediate concern, Japanese media noted.

With Japan’s assistance, the country wants to upgrade its economy, which relies heavily on primary industries.

Japan and Uzbekistan reportedly also struck a deal to speed up the process of introducing advanced Japanese industrial technologies to the Central Asian country, the officials said. Promoting the exchange of people between the two countries is another highlight of the deal, they said.

Japan believes that promoting close ties with Central Asian countries will help counter China’s increasing clout in the region, according to The Japan Time .

During the talks, Abe told Karimov that ties between Japan and China are improving, but also pointed to China’s “worrying activities” in connection with issues such as the bilateral gas field development dispute in the East China Sea, Japanese officials said.

In a joint statement issued after the talks, Uzbekistan offered support for Japan’s efforts to reform and become a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council.

It is the first time since 2006 that a Japanese prime minister has visited Uzbekistan, which is the largest among the five “stans” with a population of some 30 million.

Abe is next scheduled to visit Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan before returning home Wednesday.