As you know, the main factors determining the development of any society are education and upbringing. Therefore, it can be said that the progress of the developed countries is connected, first of all, with the globalization of the education system, high competition, and investments in education play one of the leading roles. This can be traced by the example of developed countries. For example, according to materials of the General Archive of Korea (1944), the literacy rate of the population reached only 13.8 % [1]. Later, due to fundamental changes in the public education system, Korea was able to become one of the world leaders in various sectors of the economy. At the same time, it should be noted that cooperation of the countries of the world in the field of education not only strengthens the economy and enriches it with highly qualified personnel, but also serves to establish friendly relations, thereby avoiding socio-economic, ethnic, environmental and other problems between nations.

In turn, in Uzbekistan, after acquiring independence, large-scale educational reforms were also carried out. The main tasks were the education of qualified personnel with the skills to work with innovative developments and research approaches. In solving this problem, an important role is played by the higher education system. As you know, it is not possible to imagine the development of higher education without international cooperation. That is why, in Uzbekistan from the first years of independence, they gave special attention to international cooperation. In particular, relations were established with the leading countries of the world. As a result of this collaboration, there has appeared an opportunity not only to educate young people in foreign universities, but also to open branches of famous educational institutions in Uzbekistan. In particular, today, in the republic successful activities are conducted by branches of universities of such countries as Russia, Great Britain, Singapore, South Korea, Italy, Latvia, etc.

It should be noted that the Russian Federation is the closest partner of Uzbekistan in the field of education. Moreover, the cooperation between the countries manifests itself not only in education, but also in socio-economic areas, and this cooperation is evolving today. It is also important that in all educational institutions of Uzbekistan, along with the state language, teaching is also conducted in Russian. In particular, in the 2014/2015 school year, out of 9,733 schools, 793 were purely Russian schools [6, p. 91]. And it was 8.1% of all schools in the republic. Also, it is no secret that Russian is the most frequently used language after the state language, which serves to bring the two peoples closer together and creates new opportunities for young people in education. Thus, in almost all universities of the country there are groups in which they teach in Russian. In addition, there are a lot of people among the Uzbek youth who want to get higher education in Russia [2, p. 228]. For example, in the 2015/2016 academic year, more than 14 thousand citizens of Uzbekistan studied at universities of Russia [3].

As we see, Uzbekistan and Russia have established very strong ties in the field of education and science. The range of joint work includes academic exchange, training of highly qualified personnel and researchers, the development and implementation of projects, the organization of seminars and conferences. Moreover, scientific cooperation covers not only educational institutions of the capital, but also universities from all over the country.

In particular, back in 1996, together with the All-Russian Research Institute of Agricultural Engineering and St. Petersburg State University, the Namangan Institute of Engineering and Technology prepared two candidates of science, published a joint monograph and a number of articles^[1]. Also, the Fergana State University has been cooperating with scientific institutions of the Russian Academy of Sciences since 1996^[2].

As previously noted, in addition to scientific cooperation, the Uzbek side is interested in opening branches of Russian universities. So, in Uzbekistan today, branches of such universities as G.V. Plekhanov University (2002) [7], M.V. Lomonosov Moscow State University (2006) [9], I.M. Gubkin Russian State University of Oil and Gas (2007). In these universities prepare specialists for the socio-economic sphere of the country.

As a result of close collaboration, universities and scientific centers of the two countries hold conferences, symposia, and collective works are published. In particular, Moscow State University and the Institute of History of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Uzbekistan have published the work “Russia and Uzbekistan: Past and Present” [5, p. 36].

In general, it is difficult to underestimate Russia's place in the field of education for Uzbekistan. In turn, the government of Uzbekistan attaches particular importance to this cooperation. Thus, appreciating the role in establishing close ties between the two countries, labor in training personnel for the economy of Uzbekistan, as well as in connection with the 110^th anniversary of the Russian Economic University named after G.V. Plekhanov, by the decree of the President of Uzbekistan, the Rector of the University V.I. Grishin was awarded the Order of Friendship [4].

The level of cooperation between the two countries has reached a completely new level after the official visit of President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev to Russia at the invitation of the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin on April 4-5, 2017. Since an agreement was signed on the training and retraining of personnel, the creation of branches and representative offices of leading medical centers of Russia in Uzbekistan. Further, effective steps were taken to open a network of branches of Russian universities in the country. This has led to an increase in the scale of academic exchanges between Uzbekistan and Russia [8].

These agreements have also resulted in the introduction of advanced curricula and teaching materials in the educational process of the Russian Federation, cooperation in the integration of science, education and production. An equally important step in deepening ties was the opening of the National Research Technological University "MISiS" in the town of Almalyk in the Tashkent region [14]. The branch was established at the initiative of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, by the Decree of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan “On the organization of activities of the branch of the Federal State Autonomous Educational Institution of Higher Education“ the National Research Technological University “MISiS” in Almalyk No. PP – 3714 dated 11 May 2018. This scientific institution enrolled its first students on September 1, 2018.

By the Decree of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan No. PP-3875 dated July 20, 2018, a branch of the Federal State Autonomous Educational Institution of Higher Education "The National Research Nuclear University MEPI" was created in the city of Tashkent [10].

Further, at the invitation of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, October 18-19, 2018,  the President of the Russian Federation arrived in Uzbekistan on an official visit. Along with other issues, the issues of deepening cooperation in the field of higher education were also discussed. In particular, some agreements were reached on the signing of a cooperation agreement between the Academy of Public Administration under the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan and M.V. Lomonosov Moscow State University., the Agreement on the opening in Uzbekistan of a branch of MGIMO, the Agreement between the Council of Rectors of Uzbekistan and the Russian Union of Rectors [11].

Within the framework of the visit, for the first time in history, the Uzbek-Russian educational forum “New Personnel – for the New Economy” was held. This forum, being the first major event of this kind, has contributed to the strengthening of relations between the countries. The forum was attended by representatives of the presidential administration, ministries, and university rectors, and more than 80 rectors from Russia attended the forum. One can state, that the development of the Russian-Uzbek partnership in the educational sphere is gradually becoming the foundation of a bilateral dialogue. The capacity of the Uzbek educational market is so great that the prospects for increasing the volume of interaction between universities currently appear to be limitless. The only question is to keep the level of high quality education behind the growth of quantitative indicators [10].

Speaking about the results of the forum, we note that in the end, 114 agreements and agreements were signed. Thus, it provides for the opening of 6 branches of universities and 2 faculties of Russia. It is noteworthy that according to all the agreements, the appropriate road maps for their implementation have been developed. Evidence was given to all ministries and departments for the strict implementation of all points of the road maps. The parties noted the need to ensure control over the development and implementation of regulatory documents for each initiative [12].

To date, in the branches of universities of Russia, leading their activities in Uzbekistan, 2,140 specialists have been trained. Starting this year, a double degree rule has been jointly introduced for local specialists who receive education in Russia. On August 1, 2018, the Ministry of Higher and Secondary Specialized Education of the Republic of Uzbekistan signed agreements with institutes specializing in nuclear and engineering physics research. According to the agreements, from 2018/2019 academic year in Uzbekistan there begins the training of specialties in "Nuclear energy and physics" and "Nuclear physics and technology" [10].

Special attention is paid to the fact that reforms in this direction are carried out not only in the capital, but also in the regions. Thus, in the Namangan Institute of Engineering and Technology, together with the Saratov State Technical University, an integration program is being implemented in such areas as Chemical Technology, Technological Machines and Equipment, and Control and Automation of Technological Processes and Production. This program is implemented in the form of 2 + 2, which implies the recognition of a diploma in the territory of both countries [13].

As we see, Russia is the closest partner in the field of education development and the role of its universities is high in training personnel for the country. Based on this, here are some recommendations.

- Universities of each region of the Republic need to establish cooperation with Russian universities.

- It seems expedient to open branches in the Fergana Valley where there is a difficult demographic situation.

- It is necessary to improve friendly relations between the two states in the field of training candidates of science and a doctors of science.