Iran, Uzbekistan sign 11 cooperation deals
Leader welcomes reinvigoration of Tehran-Tashkent ties
Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei welcomed reinvigoration of relations between Iran and Uzbekistan after a long break.
Ayatollah Khamenei made the remarks during a meeting with visiting Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev in Tehran. He expressed hope that the visit by the Uzbek president and talks between the two countries’ officials would be the beginning of a better future in relations between Tehran and Tashkent.
Ayatollah Khamenei said that Iran can easily connect Uzbekistan to the high seas through Turkmenistan and Afghanistan. However, he said that cooperation is not limited to trade or transportation, that both countries can further cooperate in other fields, including science and technology.
Earlier in the day, Uzbekistan’s President Shavkat Mirziyoyev arrived in Tehran and held a separate meeting with his Iranian counterpart Ebrahim Raeisi. Afterwards, officials from both sides signed 11 cooperation agreements in various fields in a ceremony held in the Saadabad Complex. According to the documents, Iran and Uzbekistan will enhance cooperation in trade, transportation and transit, pharmacology, standards and insurance, the establishment of joint free zones, technology and innovation, as well as agriculture.
Both presidents attended a meeting of high-ranking delegations of the two countries, where they discussed ways to bolster bilateral cooperation.
During the meeting, the Iranian president emphasized the need to prepare a road map to expand cooperation and implement the agreements signed between the two countries.
He noted that Iran’s presence at the International Industrial Exhibition in Tashkent is a sign of Tehran’s determination to develop economic and trade relations with the Central Asian country.
President Raeisi said that Iran has turned threats and sanctions into opportunities, emphasizing that Tehran is ready to transfer its experiences in various scientific and economic fields to Uzbekistan.
Raeisi stressed that there is no obstacle in the way of expansion of relations with neighboring countries.
Uzbekistan’s president said his country is interested in the expansion of cooperation with Iran and in various fields, including science, technology, transportation, energy infrastructure, medicine and agriculture. He also invited Iranian companies and the private sector to participate in Uzbekistan’s economic projects.
Iran and Uzbekistan signed 17 memoranda of understanding and cooperation documents during a visit by Raeisi to Uzbekistan’s Samarkand last year, when he had traveled to the country to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit.