UAE enhances thriving bilateral economic ties with Uzbekistan

Shavkat Mirziyoyev, President of the Republic of Uzbekistan, received Suhail Bin Mohammed Al Mazrouei, Minister of Energy and Infrastructure, and his accompanying delegation, who is on a visit to Uzbekistan.

At the beginning of the meeting, attended by Dr Saeed Matar Al Qemzi, UAE Ambassador to Uzbekistan, the Minister of Energy and Infrastructure conveyed the greetings of the UAE leaders and their wishes for further progress and prosperity for the leadership and people of Uzbekistan.

The meeting explored ways to enhance cooperation in various fields, especially in renewable energy, transport and logistics.

Al Mazrouei headed a high-level UAE delegation to the Republic of Uzbekistan, where he held meetings with a number of ministers and officials to explore opportunities to enhance cooperation between the two countries in all fields.

These included high-level meetings with Bakhtiyor Saidov, Uzbekistan’s Minister of Foreign Affairs; Laziz Kudratov, Uzbekistan’s Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry; Jurabek Mirzamahmudov, Uzbekistan’s Minister of Energy; Ilham Makhkamov, Uzbekistan’s Minister of Transport, and a number of Uzbek government officials.

Suhail Al Mazrouei and his accompanying delegation also met with Jamshid Khodjaev, Uzbek Deputy Prime Minister.

The UAE Minister of Energy and Infrastructure stressed the UAE’s commitment to developing bilateral relations between the two countries in various fields, especially in the field of energy, renewable energy, infrastructure and transport, in addition to the interest of the Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (TAQA) in investing in the Republic of Uzbekistan in renewable energy projects.

The UAE delegation included senior officials representing government agencies and the private sector. These included representatives from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure, the Ministry of Economy, AD Ports Group, Etihad Rail, Mubadala, EDGE, Abu Dhabi Sustainable Water Solutions Company and Masdar.

A few day earlier, Suhail Bin Mohammed Al Mazrouei headed the UAE delegation participating in the second Joint Ministerial Meeting of GCC-Central Asian Countries Strategic Dialogue, which was held on Monday in Tashkent.

The meeting was chaired by Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Bin Jassim Al Thani, Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the State of Qatar, chair of the current session of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), and Bakhtiyor Saidov, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

The meeting was attended by the foreign ministers of GCC and Central Asian countries, as well as Dr Jassim Muhammed Albudaiwi, GCC Secretary-General, and Jeyhun Bayramov, Foreign Minister of the Republic of Azerbaijan, as a guest of honour.

In his opening speech, Saidov stressed the importance of relations between GCC and Central Asian countries and expressed his aspiration to strengthen cooperation and coordination in areas of mutual interest to seize opportunities and bolster mechanisms for coordination and cooperation.

The meeting reviewed the latest developments in joint GCC work, discussed the developments related to political issues and the latest developments in the region and the world, as well as a number of issues related to the dialogues and strategic relations between GCC and Central Asian countries and ways to strengthen them, based on the joint action plan for the period 2023-2027 signed by the two parties in September 2022 during the first Joint Ministerial Meeting of GCC-Central Asian Countries Strategic Dialogue.

The UAE delegation included Dr Saeed Matar Al Qemzi, UAE Ambassador to the Republic of Uzbekistan, and a number of senior officials from the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Energy and Infrastructure.

Last year, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev witnessed the grid connection of renewable energy projects totaling 1.4 gigawatts (GW), developed by Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company PJSC – Masdar, one of the world’s leading clean energy companies.

During the grid connection ceremony, President Mirziyoyev was joined on stage by Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi, Chief Executive Officer of Masdar.

The President highlighted during his speech the special relationship between the UAE and Uzbekistan, which has established a long-term partnership that includes the investment and development of renewable energy across Uzbekistan.

The projects connected to the grid include the Zarafshan wind farm and three solar projects located in Jizzakh, Samarkand and Sherabad, which represent the largest solar development program in the region.