Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoev has held talks with the visiting leader of Russia's North Caucasus region of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov.
Mirziyoev's office said the talks on October 16 focused on trade, economic, and cultural ties between Uzbekistan and the Russian region.
Kadyrov has raised eyebrows by meeting with foreign leaders far more often than other Russian regional chiefs do.
Rights groups and critics say he rules Chechnya through fear and intimidation but is politically and financially backed by the Kremlin because Russian President Vladimir Putin needs him to keep a lid on the restive region.
Before meeting with Mirziyoev, Kadyrov visited the grave of Islamic cleric Muhammad Sodiq Muhammad Yusuf, who taught Kadyrov’s late father, former Chechnya head Akhmat Kadyrov.
The trip to Uzbekistan came three weeks after Kadyrov visited Belarus, where authorities said he held talks with President Alyaksandr Lukashenka on potential economic and industrial cooperation between Chechnya and Belarus.
Kadyrov's visits to the former Soviet republics to discuss economic ties are taking place while Chechnya is at odds with Moscow regarding subsidies.
In late September, Kadyrov wrote on Instagram that Moscow "should take the high birth rate in Chechnya into consideration" while planning the federal budget for the next year.
In November 2016, Kadyrov publicly criticized Moscow for cutting 2017 financial allocations for all regions, including Chechnya.
He said Chechnya, which gets 85 percent of its budget money from the federal government, requires special attention because it was devastated by two post-Soviet separatist wars.
Huge amounts of money have been spent on rebuilding the heavily damaged capital, Grozny, and other parts of Chechnya since major fighting in the wars ended more than 15 years ago.
