The President of Uzbekistan called for close and mutually beneficial cooperation to achieve common sustainable development goals

On October 24, President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev spoke at the plenary session of the ‘‘BRICS Plus’’ summit, the press service of the head of our state reports.

The event, chaired by Russian President Vladimir Putin, was also attended by President of the People’s Republic of China Xi Jinping, President of the Republic of South Africa Cyril Ramaphosa, President of the Arab Republic of Egypt Abdelfattah el-Sisi, President of the Islamic Republic of Iran Masoud Pezeshkian, President of the Republic of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, President of the Republic of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko, President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, President of the Kyrgyz Republic Sadyr Japarov, President of the Republic of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon, President of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhamedov, Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan, Prime Minister of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam Pham Minh Tinh, UN Secretary-General António Guterres, as well as heads and high-ranking representatives of a number of other states, international organizations and financial institutions.

In accordance with the agenda, issues of expanding international cooperation to ensure inclusive and sustainable development, as well as current issues of global and regional policy were discussed.

The President of the Republic of Uzbekistan emphasized the importance of meetings in the ‘‘BRICS Plus’’ format for a broad dialogue and open discussion of current issues of global development.

The head of our state noted with regret that today the world is rapidly moving towards a split, the number of wars and conflicts is growing, which bring enormous suffering, deep pain and irreparable losses to people.

– The fragmentation of the global economy and trade increases inequality, the technological gap and protectionism. New barriers are emerging between countries, – Shavkat Mirziyoyev emphasized.

In these conditions, BRICS, acting on the basis of such principles as equality, non-alignment, consideration of each other’s interests, respect for sovereignty and the right to their own development path, acts as an authoritative and dynamic association of multilateral cooperation and partnership.

The leader of Uzbekistan expressed confidence that such a model of interaction can become a solid foundation for the formation of a new architecture of a more just world order while maintaining the central role of the UN.

He supported calls for achieving a global compromise through constructive dialogue free of geopolitical rivalry, national egoism and ideological bias.

– We believe that the time has come to reform global governance institutions and expand responsible dialogue in the South-South and North-South formats, – Shavkat Mirziyoyev noted.

The leader of our country also noted Uzbekistan’s intention to continue to actively deepen partnership ties with the BRICS countries and effectively use the new opportunities that are opening up within this Association.

The head of state supported the commitment of the BRICS countries to developing cooperation in order to address the problems of global inequality and inclusive economic recovery.

He also stated that Uzbekistan intends to establish close cooperation with the BRICS New Development Bank to implement priority investment and social projects. Interest was expressed in expanding practical cooperation in such areas as innovation, digital economy, green development, energy and barrier-free e-commerce.

Uzbekistan also expects to take part in joint projects of the BRICS Research Group on Artificial Intelligence, join the BRICS Competence Center being created at UNIDO, as well as the proposed Investment Platform.

The President of our country noted the readiness to work closely with BRICS partners to strengthen transport connectivity, create new transcontinental corridors, form reliable supply chains, and develop a cabotage system.