The leaders of Uzbekistan and the UAE agreed to begin a new era of economic partnership

On January 15, at the Qasr al-Shati residence in Abu Dhabi, President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev and President of the United Arab Emirates Sheikh Mohammed Al Nahyan held talks in a narrow format and with the participation of members of official delegations, the press service of the head of our state reports.

At the beginning of the meeting, the President of Uzbekistan expressed sincere gratitude to the President of the UAE for the invitation and warm welcome, and also congratulated him on the successful holding of the international ‘‘Abu Dhabi Sustainable Development Week’’.

The heads of state discussed key issues of further deepening Uzbek-Emirati relations of friendship and multifaceted cooperation, including in political, trade and economic, investment, innovation, cultural and humanitarian and other priority areas.

It was noted that the peoples of Uzbekistan and the Emirates are firmly connected by deep historical roots, common values ​​and traditions, the sacred religion of Islam.

It was emphasized that the visit of the leader of Uzbekistan to the UAE opens a new page in the history of bilateral relations – they are reaching the level of strategic partnership.

It was noted with satisfaction that in recent years the volume of trade and investment, the number of joint ventures have increased many times over. The frequency of direct flights has increased, a visa-free regime has been introduced.

During the visit, a solid portfolio of new projects was formed with leading Emirati companies, mainly in high-tech industries.

In order to further strengthen political contacts, the importance of further developing the dialogue between the foreign ministries of the two countries was emphasized.

The leaders of the two countries also identified 6 key areas of the new model of economic cooperation in such key areas as artificial intelligence, digitalization, green energy, urban development and infrastructure, tourism, and private business. An agreement was reached to create separate working groups for each priority vector of interaction.

The parties supported the proposal to declare 2025-2027 ‘‘A New Era of Economic Partnership between Uzbekistan and the UAE’’.

In this context, the key task is to take measures aimed at increasing mutual trade volumes by 10 times by 2030 and bringing the investment portfolio to 50 billion dollars.

Interest was expressed in further strengthening ties between the business circles of the two countries and expanding the investment activities of Emirati companies in Uzbekistan.

Special attention was paid to expanding cultural and humanitarian exchanges.

The head of our state proposed launching a joint program for training highly qualified personnel and conducting scientific research in the field of artificial intelligence in cooperation with the Mohammed bin Zayed University.

During the talks, preparations for upcoming high-level events were discussed, including the second summit of the ‘‘Central Asia – Gulf Cooperation Council dialogue’’, which will be held this year in Samarkand.

The leaders also exchanged views on current aspects of international politics.