Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- On 15 November 2020, a delegation of think tanks of Uzbekistan met in Paris with the Director of the French Institute of International Relations (IFRI) Thomas Gomar, with the head of the OECD-Eurasia coordination group William Thompson, with the Director of the International think tank of the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) Tara Varma and with the director of the Center for Advanced Study and International Information under the French Prime Minister (CEPII) Antoine Boué.

From the Uzbek side, experts from the International Institute of Central Asia (MICA), the Institute for Strategic and Interregional Studies (ISMI), the Center for Economic Research and Reforms (CERR), the Information and Analytical Center for International Relations under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Uzbekistan (IACMO) took part.

An exchange of views took place on topical issues of Uzbek-French cooperation, the current situation in Central Asia and the prospects for its development.

It was emphasized that thanks to joint efforts, the partnership between the two countries over the past five years has been consistently expanding in almost all directions.

It was noted that the reforms initiated by President Shavkat Mirziyoyev are of great importance not only for the country, but also contribute to the positive development of all of Central Asia.

MICA Director Anvar Nasirov separately noted the growing interest of the international community in the Central Asian region as a whole, as evidenced by the effective international formats "5 + 1", with the participation of the United States, South Korea, Japan, India, China, Russia, the European Council and the Cooperation Council Arab states of the Persian Gulf.

And the region itself is also interested in multilateral platforms through which the countries of Central Asia seek to build a constructive dialogue with the world’s leading actors on equal terms.

As the President, Mr. Shavkat Mirziyoyev, noted at the recent first Central Asia-European Union summit, “there are still unresolved issues in the region.

But we are convinced that our strong political will and common creative spirit will contribute to the further rapprochement of the fraternal countries and peoples of the region.”

Anvar Nasirov stressed that our country is also interested in establishing a constructive bilateral dialogue with the EU member states, one of the locomotives of which is France.

In addition, the director of MICA noted the importance of relations between France and Uzbekistan in the economic, investment, financial and technical fields. It was noted that in January-September this year, its volume exceeded US$230 million, including the export of Uzbek products increased 9 times and reached almost 70 million.

Representatives of the French analytical centers agreed with the director of the MICA Anvar Nasirov and also stressed the importance of further continuation of the active regional course of Uzbekistan to strengthen trade and economic ties, expand cooperation, deepen humanitarian exchanges, as well as other promising areas for further deepening the partnership between the two countries.

Important was the regular contacts at the highest level and the well-established mechanisms of interstate dialogue, which are a solid basis for strengthening and building up interaction.

IFRI Director T. Gomar noted the growing interest of Paris and the European Union as a whole in Uzbekistan and the Central Asian region. It was pointed out that this is largely due to the fact that Central Asia is beginning to play an important role in ensuring stability and sustainable development throughout the Eurasian continent.

Separately, it is indicated that this became possible thanks to the active regional policy of New Uzbekistan, under the leadership of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

In addition, the meeting discussed the prospects for establishing partnerships between the analytical centers of the two countries, holding joint scientific and practical events, including in the format of Central Asia - France.

The head of the OECD-Eurasia coordination group, W. Thompson, highly appreciated the large-scale reforms in Uzbekistan and the process of consistently strengthening relations between our country and the OECD.

It was noted that the reforms initiated by President Shavkat Mirziyoyev are of great importance not only for the country, but also contribute to the positive development of all of Central Asia.

The OECD representative stressed the importance of further continuation of the active regional course of Uzbekistan to strengthen trade and economic ties, expand cooperation, and deepen humanitarian exchanges.

ECFR Director T. Varma highly appreciated the current state and prospects for the development of relations between Uzbekistan and the EU countries. It was emphasized that Uzbekistan has a serious political and economic potential, plays a key role in the Central Asian region and is one of the key partners of the European Union.

Important was the regular contacts at the highest level and the well-established mechanisms of interstate dialogue, which are a solid basis for strengthening and building up interaction.

In addition, an exchange of views took place on issues of regional security and sustainable development.

Agreements were reached to continue joint work to further strengthen cooperation between experts from think tanks of Uzbekistan and the European Union through scientific and practical events.

According to the director of CEPII Antoine Boué, the upcoming visit of the Leader of Uzbekistan to France will give an additional impetus to the development of mutually beneficial relations in all areas, which have become intense in recent years.

French business circles are especially interested in joint projects in industry, transport, energy and innovation.

As a result of these meetings, the participants agreed to continue close contacts and consider the possibility of joint projects.