Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- On 29 April, President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev received Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasu Hayashi, who is in Uzbekistan on an official visit.

This visit takes place in the year of the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations and the 20th anniversary of the strategic partnership between Uzbekistan and Japan.

At the meeting, topical issues of further expansion of the Uzbek-Japanese multifaceted cooperation were considered.

It was noted with deep satisfaction that the high-level visit to Tokyo in December 2019 opened a new chapter in strengthening the traditionally friendly ties between our countries, filling the interaction with concrete content.

In recent years, the number of joint ventures and projects has increased several times, including with the attraction of direct investments from leading Japanese companies in the development of energy and tourism infrastructure, high-tech industry in Uzbekistan.

The portfolio of joint programs involving funding from Japanese development and cooperation institutions exceeded US$7 billion.

The volume of mutual trade is growing, primarily due to the supply of new types of industrial and agricultural products in demand.

A joint educational project, the Digital University in Tashkent, is successfully operating in our country.

The head of our state highlighted the importance of continuing fruitful contacts at the highest level and reaffirmed the invitation to Prime Minister of Japan Fumio Kishida to pay an official visit to Uzbekistan.

The interest in deepening constructive regional cooperation in the "Central Asia plus Japan" format, primarily in the field of economic interconnectedness, alternative energy and ecology, was emphasized.

Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi expressed the Government of Japan’s full support for the ongoing reform strategy in New Uzbekistan. 

The efforts of our country in ensuring long-term peace and promoting the economic recovery of Afghanistan are also highly appreciated.