DUSHANBE, April 25, 2016, Asia-Plus -- Uzbek President Islam Karimov is paying an official visit to Russia from April 25-26 at Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invitation.

According to the Kremlin press service, talks between Putin and Karimov are expected to focus on ways to boost bilateral ties as well as regional and global issues.

The presidents of Russia and Uzbekistan will also exchange views on a number of international and regional issues being of mutual interests, and discuss cooperation between their countries within multilateral organizations, including the CIS, SCO and the United Nations.

Karimov has been in power since before the Central Asian nation gained independence from Moscow in the 1991 Soviet breakup.