Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- On 19 December 2020, Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdulaziz Kamilov held a meeting with the heads of the diplomatic missions of Uzbekistan abroad, dedicated to the work done in the priority areas of foreign policy and economic diplomacy this year, as well as plans for the coming 2021.

In the Minister’s speech, the activities of the central office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and foreign institutions were comprehensively analyzed in the light of the tasks arising from the instructions of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev, the goals enshrined in the "Action Strategy for Five Priority Areas of Development of the Republic of Uzbekistan in 2017-2021" and in the State Program on its implementation in the "Year of Development of Science, Education and the Digital Economy".

It was noted that this year, despite the difficult situation caused by the coronavirus pandemic, it was possible to maintain the positive dynamics of international cooperation and foreign economic activity. Official visits of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan to the Republic of Turkey and the Russian Federation, negotiations in the format of a video conference with the leaders of a number of foreign states, meetings of international organizations took place. The "Road Map" is being consistently implemented to promote international initiatives of the Head of Uzbekistan at the 75th session of the UN General Assembly.

Interaction is comprehensively developing within the framework of international and regional structures, in particular, the Commonwealth of Independent States, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and the Cooperation Council of Turkic-speaking States. The positive results of the chairmanship of Uzbekistan in the CIS this year were also noted.

Active diplomatic work continued to provide all-round support to Afghanistan by assisting in the conduct of inter-Afghan negotiations and the implementation of socio-economic projects in this country.

In the context of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and the restrictive measures introduced by many countries, special attention was paid to promoting trade and economic cooperation with foreign partners, high-quality development and implementation of joint investment projects in various industries, and identifying new points of growth for cooperation.

The issues of protecting the legitimate rights and interests of citizens of the Republic of Uzbekistan who work abroad, strengthening and expanding ties with compatriots were considered in detail. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, together with other ministries and departments of Uzbekistan, and foreign partners, organized well-coordinated work to return about 500,000 fellow citizens to their homeland. More than 60 thousand citizens of the Republic of Uzbekistan abroad who find themselves in difficult material conditions, through the embassies and consular offices, were provided gratuitous assistance in the form of providing financial resources, providing housing and food.

As a result of the meeting, the Central Office and foreign missions were assigned specific tasks to actively promote the international initiatives of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev on the world stage, strengthen mutually beneficial cooperation with the states of the near and far abroad, build up constructive partnerships with international and regional institutions, implement proactive economic diplomacy, expand cultural humanitarian exchanges, as well as in other priority areas.