Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- On 15 July, within the framework of the international conference “Central and South Asia: regional interconnectedness. Challenges and Opportunities”, an opening ceremony of the International Institute of Central Asia (IICA), created on the initiative of the President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev, took place.

The ceremony was attended by the heads of the foreign affairs agencies of the countries of Central Asia, high representatives of the United Nations, the Commonwealth of Independent States, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, the Cooperation Council of Turkic-speaking States and the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia, who arrived in Tashkent to participate in the International Conference “Central and South Asia: Regional Connectivity. Challenges and Opportunities”.

The event began with a greeting from the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev, which was read by the Chairman of the Senate of the Oliy Majlis Tanzila Narbaeva.

In his speech, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Uzbekistan Abdulaziz Kamilov noted that the creation of this institution testifies to the growing importance of regional political and economic processes, which have been especially pronounced in our region in recent years, reports the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

The distinguished guests got acquainted with the new building of the Institute, the working conditions created for the employees and expressed confidence that IICA will serve as a platform for expert discussion of the prospects for regional cooperation, development of concrete and scientifically substantiated proposals for multilateral projects in trade, transport and communication, energy, water, environmental , humanitarian and security spheres.