President of Russia Vladimir Putin congratulated Islam Karimov in a telephone conversation on 24 December and wished success and prosperity to the people of Uzbekistan.

President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev, President of Kyrgyzstan Kurmanbek Bakieyv, President of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon and President of Ukraine Victor Yushchenko also held telephone conversations with the President of Uzbekistan.

A number of leaders, including Chinese President Hu Jintao, President of Egypt Hosni Mubarak, President of Turkey Abdullah Gul, President of Iran Mahmud Ahmadinejad, President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and President of Vietnam Nguen Min Chiet sent congratulatory telegrams to the President of Uzbekistan.

In his telegram, Hu Jintao noted that China and Uzbekistan were good neighbors and had had friendly relations for many years.

“Our countries continuously cooperate in politics, economics, trade, energy, security, humanitarian and other spheres. The sides support good interaction and cooperation within the UNO, SCO and other international organizations,” the Chinese leader wrote.

“We are glad to see that in the recent years political stability has been kept, economy has been developing and the people’s living level has been increasing in your country. I am convinced that under your leadership Uzbekistan will surely achieve even more success,” Hu Jintao stated.