Uzbekistan and Slovenia aim to expand technological and industrial partnership

The President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev, at the invitation of the President of the Republic of Slovenia Natasha Pirc Musar, arrived on an official visit to Ljubljana.

The head of our state was met at the plane's exit by Deputy Prime Minister - Minister of Foreign Affairs Tania Fajon and other officials.

At Jože Pučnik International Airport, the national flags of the two countries were raised in honor of the distinguished guest and a guard of honor was formed.

In accordance with the visit program, the leader of Uzbekistan will hold negotiations with The President of the Republic of Slovenia, Natasha Pirc Musar, will meet with the leadership of the parliament and government of the country, and will also take part in a joint business forum.

Issues of developing mutually beneficial trade and economic cooperation, implementing cooperation projects in industry, pharmaceuticals, electrical engineering, green energy, agriculture, as well as interaction in the field of labor migration and expanding humanitarian contacts will be considered.

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Negotiations between the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev and the President of the Republic of Slovenia Natasha Pirc Musar took place at the Presidential Palace in Ljubljana in a limited format and with the participation of official delegations.

At the beginning of the meeting, the head of our state thanked the leader of Slovenia for the warm welcome and emphasized that the first summit in 20 years will go down in history as the beginning of a new stage in relations between the two countries.

Current issues of further development of practical cooperation between Uzbekistan and Slovenia were considered.

The intensification of political dialogue, contacts at different levels and business meetings was noted with satisfaction. Mutual support is provided within the UN and other international structures.

In recent years, trade turnover has increased 3 times. Cultural and tourist exchanges are expanding. There is a visa-free regime for citizens of Slovenia.

To make bilateral relations systematic, the importance of establishing regular dialogue at the highest and highest levels was emphasized.

Particular attention was paid to the issues of increasing trade turnover and bringing its volumes at the first stage to 500 million euros, primarily through expanding the range and import substitution.

We are talking about supplies from Uzbekistan of textiles, fruits and vegetables, mineral fertilizers, copper products and other industrial goods, from Slovenia - medicines, advanced technologies and equipment.

The possibilities of using the potential of the Slovenian port "Koper" as a logistics hub for access to the European market will be explored Union.

Agreements were reached on the adoption of the Industrial Cooperation Program with leading companies in Slovenia, as well as the implementation of projects for the production of modern equipment, industrial and agricultural goods, localization of the production of pharmaceutical products, including those based on honey and medicinal herbs, construction and modernization of energy facilities and others.

For systemic interaction in the field of labor migration, it was decided to prepare an Agreement on Organized labor migration with the development of training and adaptation programs in language, professional skills and labor standards.

The development of tourism, especially in rural and mountainous regions, is identified as a promising direction. In the field of education, the parties agreed to sign an agreement on the mutual recognition of diplomas and launch joint training programs with the Universities of Ljubljana and Maribor.

In addition, next year in the city of Tashkent a joint youth Forum of innovative projects will be held with the participation of universities and research centers of the two countries.

In order to strengthen humanitarian exchange, the parties advocated holding cross-curricular Days of Culture and the Week of Uzbek Cinema in the city of Ljubljana.

To promote all the objectives, a decision was made to organize the first meeting of the Intergovernmental Commission in July this year in Ljubljana.

At the end of the meeting, the head of our state invited the President of Slovenia Natasha Pirc Musar to visit Uzbekistan on a return visit at a convenient time.

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As part of the program of the official visit to the Republic of Slovenia, the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev met with the Prime Minister of this country Robert Golob.

The focus was on building up Uzbek-Slovenian multifaceted cooperation and practical interaction, primarily in the trade, economic and investment spheres.

The fruitful results of the high-level negotiations held today were highly appreciated.

The importance of intensifying joint work in the field of trade, investment and cooperation was emphasized. It was noted that the business forum planned during the current visit will become an effective platform for establishing new contacts and promoting joint projects.

Measures were considered to increase trade turnover to 500 million euros by increasing mutual supplies of in-demand products. The GSP+ system of preferences and the standardization agreement signed today will also stimulate trade growth.

An Industrial Cooperation Development Plan will be prepared with an emphasis on technological modernization. In this context, the intentions of leading Slovenian companies to implement projects in the field of electrical engineering, instrument making, pharmaceuticals, green energy, and smart agriculture in Uzbekistan were supported.

To accommodate such production, the site of a special industrial park being created in our country for European companies under the management of "Inpark" was proposed.

In order to establish systemic interaction in the field labor migration, an agreement was reached on the creation of a permanent expert group and the preparation of the necessary regulatory framework.

It was also agreed to jointly study the possibilities of establishing direct flights between the two countries and using the infrastructure of the Koper port for the entry of Uzbek goods into the EU market.

A separate topic of the negotiations was the expansion of cultural and humanitarian exchange. Of particular interest is the experience of Slovenia in the development of eco-tourism, including in mountainous and rural areas.

The importance of developing joint educational programs was noted, including the organization of the Youth Innovation Forum in the city of Tashkent. Also next year, cross Culture Days and Uzbek Cinema Week will be held in Ljubljana.

In order to practically promote the identified areas of cooperation, an agreement was reached to hold the first meeting of the Intergovernmental Commission in July this year in the city of Ljubljana.

In addition, for the timely and high-quality implementation of the agreements reached and signed agreements, the governments of the two countries will adopt a comprehensive “road map”.

In completion, the head of our state invited the Prime Minister of Slovenia Robert Golob to visit Uzbekistan at a convenient time.

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Following the results of the negotiations held in the city of Ljubljana, the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev and the Prime Minister of the Republic of Slovenia Robert Golob signed a Joint statement.

In their presence, a ceremony was held to exchange bilateral agreements:

– on the exemption of holders of diplomatic passports from visa requirements;

– on cooperation in the field of education, science and culture;

– on cooperation in the field of transport and logistics;

– on cooperation in the field of smart city management;

– on cooperation in the field of standardization;

– on cooperation in the field of water resources management;

– on cooperation in the field of tourism.

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As part of his official visit to the Republic of Slovenia, the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev met with the Chairman of the National Assembly of Slovenia Urska Klakocar-Zupancic.

Issues of further development of multifaceted Uzbek-Slovenian relations were considered, including at the level of the parliaments of the two countries.

The intensification of inter-parliamentary exchanges observed in recent years was noted with satisfaction. In April of this year, the Chairman of the Commission of the National Assembly of Slovenia, Predrag Bakovic, took part in the 150th anniversary Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union in the city of Tashkent. “Friendship groups” have been created in the parliaments of the two countries.

The importance of parliamentary interaction at the level of relevant committees to support and accelerate joint projects was emphasized.

In addition, the need for parliamentary support for humanitarian interaction, including holding cultural and cinema days, exhibitions, and the development of academic exchanges between universities was noted.

Coordination and mutual support of initiatives on the platforms of international parliamentary organizations will also be strengthened.

It is proposed to hold the first Uzbek-Slovenian Inter-Parliamentary Forum in the city of Samarkand with the participation of deputies and the expert community.

An agreement has been reached on the adoption by parliaments of a joint “road map” for further interaction.

Official website of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan