Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.uz) — Japanese Prime Minister’s Special Adviser Yoshimasa Uno and Uzbekistan’s First Deputy Minister of Economy and Finance Ilkhom Norkulov discussed prospects for expanding bilateral cooperation on 6 October.
The meeting focused on trade and economic ties, infrastructure and innovation, as well as new areas of cooperation, the Ministry of Economy and Finance of Uzbekistan said.
The talks were attended by Japan’s Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Uzbekistan Kenji Hirata and other relevant officials.
The sides discussed further development of mutually beneficial cooperation and new areas for practical interaction.
Particular attention was paid to implementing initiatives put forward at the first Central Asia–Japan Summit, held in December 2025, as well as agreements reached following the high-level visit.
The Japanese side presented information on the concept of a “Free and Open Indo-Pacific” (FOIP). Japan introduced the concept in 2016, while in May 2026, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi presented its updated version, FOIP 3.0.
The updated concept identifies the development of economic infrastructure for the artificial intelligence era, ensuring the resilience of energy and critical raw material supply chains, public-private partnerships and security cooperation among its priorities.
The meeting also covered prospects for implementing projects in green energy, improving energy efficiency and introducing water-saving technologies.
Following the talks, the sides confirmed their readiness to consistently develop cooperation in priority areas of mutual interest and expand practical ties between Uzbekistan and Japan.
