Presidents of Uzbekistan and Iran Consider a Wide Range of Issues of Bilateral Cooperation

The negotiations between the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev and the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran Ebrahim Raisi, who is on an official visit in our country, took place at the Samarkand Congress Center.

The President of Uzbekistan noted that the current visit of the President of Iran is of a historical nature and congratulated on the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

It is noted with satisfaction that the Uzbek -Iranian relations have gained a new dynamic of development in recent years.

During the talks, the leaders discussed the issues of strengthening bilateral ties, expanding the practical cooperation in the political, trade and economic, investment, transport and logistics, cultural and humanitarian areas.

A special attention is paid to the partnership in trade and transport, scientific, technical and innovation areas, as well as the cooperation among the regions of the two countries.

The sides noted with satisfaction that the intensification of bilateral contacts and mutual exchanges have been observed in recent years. The trade indicators and the number of cooperation projects are also growing. Last year the trade turnover increased by 73%, since the beginning of this year – by 15%.      A regular meeting of the Intergovernmental Commission, a joint business forum and a scientific and innovative forum were held, as well as a Joint Investment Committee was established.

It has been noted that there are great opportunities for further increasing the trade turnover – up to $ 1 billion in the near future.

For this purpose, a relevant «Roadmap» will be developed. In addition, an agreement on preferential trade is envisaged.

The promising and already implemented cooperation projects in various industries were noted. It is proposed to intensify the cooperation in science and innovation. The necessity of implementing the joint projects for the production and delivery of food products to the markets of third countries was emphasized.

A particular attention was paid to the transport and logistics collaboration. It was noted that establishing a road transport along the «Uzbekistan-Turkmenistan-Iran» route, the effective use of the «Chabahar» port’s potential and the facilitation of goods entry and transit shall expand the opportunities in this direction.

The importance of enhancing economic, touristic, and cultural ties between the nationsэ regions is emphasized.

There was also an exchange of views on the Afghan problem.

 Ebrahim Raisi has invited the President of Uzbekistan to pay a return visit to the Islamic Republic of Iran at his convenience.