Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- On 9 March 2021, in Tashkent, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Uzbekistan Abdulaziz Kamilov met with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkey Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, and the second meeting of the Strategic Planning Group was held under the chairmanship of the heads of the foreign ministries of the two countries.

During the talks, the sides discussed the state and prospects for the development of bilateral relations in the political, trade and economic, transport and communication, investment, tourism, cultural, humanitarian and other spheres.

The parties noted with satisfaction the progress in the implementation of the agreements reached in February 2020 in Ankara during the meetings and negotiations of the presidents of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev and Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The organizational issues of preparation for the upcoming joint events, in particular the second meeting of the Uzbek-Turkish Council for Strategic Cooperation of the highest level, were considered.

An exchange of views took place on strengthening the inter-parliamentary dialogue, improving the legal framework of bilateral relations, and building up interregional cooperation.

The parties expressed mutual interest in further intensifying interaction within the UN, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, the Cooperation Council of Turkic-speaking States, the Economic Cooperation Organization and other multilateral structures.

Special attention is paid to the issues of expanding partnership in the scientific and educational sphere, including the opening of a branch of Bahchesehir University in Uzbekistan, as well as the establishment of the Ferghana Higher School of Tourism in cooperation with the University named after Khoja Bayram Vali.

The Turkish side has been invited to the International High-Level Conference “Central and South Asia: Regional Connectivity. Challenges and opportunities”, international festivals “Sharq taronalari”, art of bakhshi, artisans and other events in Uzbekistan.

The event also examined certain aspects of the international and regional agenda.

After the meeting of the Strategic Planning Group, the heads of the foreign affairs agencies of the two countries signed the Program of Cooperation between the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of Uzbekistan and Turkey for 2022-2023 and a Memorandum of Understanding in the field of translation services.