On April 14 this year, there was a videoconference involving Deputy Prime Minister - Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade of the Republic of Uzbekistan, S. Umurzakov, and Minister of Cabinet Affairs and the Future of the United Arab Emirates, Mohammed Abdullah Al Gergawi.

The attention was paid to current investment, trade and economic cooperation issues: dynamics, interim results and forecasts for the near future. The participants noted significant progress in improvement of public administration performance. Despite the current restrictions caused by the coronavirus pandemic, there is an active communication of 22 working groups involving ministries and departments of Uzbekistan and the UAE under the specified initiatives via video conferencing.

Mohammed Abdullah Al Gergawi assured that the Emirate side remains committed to the agreements reached with Uzbekistan and that joint work on joint projects will continue at a dynamic pace.

The parties specifically considered topical issues related to the implementation of projects in Uzbekistan by the emirate partners. In particular, they considered the project providing establishment of logistics parks and industrial zones, the project of “dry port” in Navoi, real estate and construction projects, as well as other ongoing initiatives. The parties exchanged their view on further steps to accelerate implementation in specified areas.

They separately highlighted the relevance and decisiveness of the actions of the Government of Uzbekistan to counteract the pandemic, to protect public health and maintain economic activity in the country. In this view, the Uzbek side expressed gratitude for the humanitarian assistance provided by the UAE Government, including medical masks, overalls, gloves, and other protective equipment designed to combat the spread of COVID-19.

The videoconference resulted in agreement to continue similar online sessions at various levels for more active interaction and prompt resolution of current bilateral cooperation issues.