Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- Today, the Minister of Health of the Republic of Uzbekistan Abdukhakim Khadjibayev met with the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of India to our country Manish Prabhat. Mr. Prabhat began his activities as an ambassador in our country in September this year.

During the dialogue, it was noted that in recent years, bilateral cooperation has been raised to a qualitatively new level. The visits of the President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev to India in 2018-2019 have created a solid foundation for large-scale cooperation. In particular, the head of our state visited India in January 2019 to participate in the IX International Investment Summit "Dynamic Gujarat", where he discussed with the Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi topical issues of Uzbek-Indian cooperation, international and regional politics. And in October 2019, Shavkat Mirziyoyev received a delegation from the Indian state of Gujarat, where special attention was paid to the implementation of joint projects in such areas as biotechnology and agricultural clusters, the textile and pharmaceutical industries.

It is worth noting that the ambassador highly appreciated the measures taken in our country under the leadership of the President to combat coronavirus infection, due to which the incidence of the disease has significantly decreased at this time. It was noted that timely steps contribute to minimizing the consequences of COVID-19. M. Prabhat noted that the population of Uzbekistan showed a high level of discipline and responsibility during the pandemic, which contributed to the achievement of good results and allowed the government to keep the situation under control to this day.

In turn, the minister noted that the stability of the situation is not soothing. There is an understanding that, according to the experience of many other countries, the second wave of COVID-19 cannot be avoided. For this, the country is preparing for it. It was said that during the lull, about 40 hospitals out of more than 150 were left to work, the rest were mothballed so that, if necessary, they could again receive patients with coronavirus.

The parties also discussed vectors for further cooperation. Among them are the development of existing investment projects and the attraction of new investors to Uzbekistan, the establishment of joint pharmaceutical production.

Manish Prabhat noted that India is currently working on the creation of 3 vaccines against coronavirus, 2 of which are in the second, and one in the third stage. The ambassador noted that in the future, these vaccines can be useful for the population of Uzbekistan.

Also, the ambassador voiced proposals to establish close cooperation on the student exchange program. He noted that young people in India are increasingly showing interest in studying at medical universities in Uzbekistan.

In addition, the similarity of countries in the attention to the development of traditional medicine was expressed and areas of cooperation in this area were discussed.