Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- A delegation of Uzbekistan Temir Yollari held talks with the Spanish Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism to discuss the issue of allocating soft loans from the FIEM Internationalization Fund of Spanish Companies for the purchase of 4 Talgo high-speed electric trains -250, Dunyo news agency reported.

According to the Embassy of Uzbekistan in Madrid, from the Uzbek side, the head of the department for the organization and operation of high-speed passenger trains of Uzbekistan Temir Yollari Sherzod Tulyaganov and a specialist in the department of international cooperation and foreign economic relations Azamkhon Meliboev participated in the negotiations, from the Spanish side - Deputy Director of the Department of Asia, Europe. non-EU and Oceania Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism Veronica Samper, as well as other responsible employees of the Department of the Ministry and the FIEM Foundation.

During the meeting, the Spanish side was presented with a presentation of the activities of Uzbekistan Temir Yollari and promising projects implemented in Uzbekistan in the field of railway construction. In particular, it was noted that 6 high-speed electric trains manufactured by the Spanish company Patentes Talgo SLU have been purchased by Uzbekistan Temir Yollari to date. The last batch arrived in 2021. The projects were financed by a loan from the Foundation for the Internationalization of Spanish Companies (“FIEM”) for a period of 30 years with a 10-year grace period. Also, the Spanish side was provided with detailed information on the implementation of the project for the electrification of the Bukhara-Urgench-Khiva railway line, which provides for the purchase of additional 4 electric trains after the commissioning of the high-speed line.

In this context, the parties discussed the possibility of organizing the purchase of Talgo-250 trains using a soft loan from the FIEM fund to finance the project.

In turn, the Spanish side, emphasizing the importance of continuing cooperation in this direction between Spain and Uzbekistan - a country that is a leader in the introduction of high-speed electrified railway communication among the countries of Central Asia, informed that it would make every effort to positively resolve the issue of the possibility of allocating a loan from the FIEM fund on preferential conditions when considering this issue by the leadership of the authorized relevant ministries of the Spanish government.

Following the talks, the parties agreed to continue working on the issue at the expert level.