Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) – On 23 October, the International Institute of Central Asia and the Institute for Strategic and Interregional Studies under the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan jointly organized a round table on the topic: "State and prospects of Uzbek-German cooperation."

The event was attended by the chairman of the Munich Security Conference Wolfgang Ischinger, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Germany to Uzbekistan Tilo Klinner, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Uzbekistan Gayrat Fazylov, Director of MICA Anvar Nasyrov and Deputy Director of ISMI Sanjar Valiev, representatives of the expert community and the media of the two countries.

In his speech, the deputy head of the ISMI stressed that "relations with Germany are the core of Uzbekistan’s European policy." Germany is the first trade partner of Uzbekistan among the EU countries and the third among the main investors after Russia and China.

Having set ambitious goals of its reform policy, Uzbekistan pays special attention to deepening relations with such advanced countries of the world as Germany, which have achieved the highest development results.

The expert emphasized that the Uzbek-German relations over the past 5 years have reached a qualitatively new level, characterized by a wide coverage of spheres and areas of cooperation. These are issues of security, protection of human rights, environmental protection, science and education, expansion of cultural ties and tourist exchange. Recently, the central topic has also become the mutual overcoming of the consequences of the pandemic and the determination of priorities in cooperation in the new conditions. Cooperation between countries in the field of health has increased.

According to Sanjar Valiev, “Uzbekistan’s new open foreign policy turns our country into a key partner of Berlin in the region. This is confirmed by the fact that Uzbekistan has become the only Central Asian country included in the updated program of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development “BMZ 2030”. Under this program, priority projects are being implemented in Uzbekistan in the field of public administration, human rights, climate protection, healthcare, the use of digital technologies and the creation of sustainable supply chains.

At the same time, the dynamics of an increase in the allocated financial resources speaks of Germany’s strong support for the course of internal reforms in Uzbekistan. In 2018-2019 alone, it amounted to 202 million euros, that is, it grew five times compared to the same indicator in 2016-2017. The total amount of financial and technical assistance to Germany for the implementation of priority socio-economic projects in Uzbekistan has reached almost 500 million euros.

“The conclusion of the Agreement on internship and employment of Uzbek citizens in Germany, which became the first such document signed between the two countries, testifies that humanitarian relations have reached a qualitatively new level,” said the deputy head of the ISMI.

Taking into account the priority interest of the German side in attracting personnel for the healthcare sector, an agreement was reached to launch, at the first stage, a program for recruiting participants for vocational training and employment in Germany in the specialties of social workers, nurses and nurses. Further expansion of the list of specialties for this program meets the interests of both parties.

Following the results of the Uzbek-German "round table", an agreement was reached to intensify the expert dialogue between the two countries in the interests of expanding the cooperation agenda. The head of the Munich Security Conference expressed interest in cooperation with MICA and ISMI in order to support dialogue platforms on topical issues.