Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- On 17 January, in the afternoon, President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev, as part of his state visit to Singapore, visited the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore, one of the leading higher educational institutions in the world.

Named after Singapore’s reformist Prime Minister and architect of Singapore’s economic miracle, the school specializes in graduate programs in public policy and international relations, as well as academic and policy studies.

For several years now, the school has occupied the first lines of the world rankings of higher educational institutions. It also organizes short-term training programs for senior officials from foreign countries.

As you know, an important role in Singapore’s achievement of economic and social success was played by a well-thought-out personnel policy, priority attention to the training of qualified, competent and honest leadership. The leader of our country pays special attention to these issues from the very beginning of his activity. In this context, the study and application of Singapore’s experience in the field of training civil servants is of great importance.

The head of our state got acquainted in detail with the activities of the school, and also discussed with the leadership of the educational institution the prospects for bilateral cooperation.

In the presence of the President of Uzbekistan, the signing ceremony of the Cooperation Agreement between the Academy of Public Administration of Uzbekistan and the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy took place.

Then the President of our country held a meeting with the heads of leading companies and financial structures of Singapore.

The event was attended by Minister of Trade and Industry of Singapore Leng Si Tang, Chairman of the Singapore Business Federation Ming Yang Lim, heads of 15 largest companies such as Indorama, Meinhardt group, CPG Corporation, Changi Airports, Singapore Development Institute management, TMC Academy, Virtus Health and others.

Welcoming the participants of the meeting, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev drew attention to the fact that the visit to Singapore is his first trip abroad in the new 2023, which indicates the exceptional attention of Uzbekistan to establishing strong and mutually beneficial relations with Singapore.

It was noted that due to the implementation of systemic reforms in Uzbekistan, the inflow of investments increased to a level exceeding 30 percent of GDP. In 2022 alone, US$8 billion of foreign direct investment was attracted to the economy.

The head of our country shared plans to attract about US$30 billion in investments in 2023, launch over 300 projects worth US$8 billion.

The results of the Uzbek-Singapore business forum held the day before, within the framework of which new investment, trade and financial agreements worth almost US$5 billion, were noted with satisfaction.

“This is evidence of a significant intensification of our cooperation, its obvious success and filling the agenda of Uzbek-Singapore relations with practical and qualitative content,” the President of our country noted.

But the partnership’s potential has not been exhausted. As President Shavkat Mirziyoyev noted, our countries can significantly expand bilateral cooperation.

- The advanced experience of Singaporean companies is of great interest to us, - said the head of our state. - I am sure that the synergy of innovations and technologies of Singaporean partners with the resource and human potential of Uzbekistan will ensure the stable development of future joint projects.

The leader of Uzbekistan highlighted the most promising areas for long-term and mutually beneficial cooperation, including the participation of Singaporean companies in privatization processes in Uzbekistan, the development of urban and transport infrastructure, the implementation of joint projects in the chemical and textile industries, the green economy, education, healthcare and others.

Readiness was expressed to provide Singaporean entrepreneurs with the necessary production infrastructure, broad support in the form of benefits and guaranteed purchases, as well as provide other assistance measures.

Noting that the reforms being carried out in Uzbekistan are aimed at making our country associated with foreign partners with reliability and stability, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev called on Singaporean entrepreneurs to take advantage of the opportunities for mutually beneficial cooperation and actively invest in the economy of our country.

A detailed exchange of views took place on plans to expand the partnership. In their speeches, representatives of Singaporean business highly appreciated the economic reforms carried out in Uzbekistan. We shared plans for the implementation of specific projects in our country.

After talking with each member of the business delegation, the head of our state invited entrepreneurs to visit our country and personally get acquainted with the favorable investment climate created.

Following the meeting, the responsible leaders from the Uzbek side were instructed to develop and approve the Plan of Practical Measures, including all the voiced projects and indicating step-by-step mechanisms, specific deadlines and executors.

On this, the fruitful state visit of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev to Singapore ended.

At the international airport "Changi" the distinguished guest was seen off by the officials of Singapore. The head of our state flew to Tashkent.