- 03.19.
Uzbekistan and the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.) have signed $10 billion worth of agreements on cooperation in investment and finance, renewable energy, industry and infrastructure development, agriculture, and other fields, according to Uzbekistan's presidential website.
The agreements were signed on March 25 in Abu Dhabi during talks between Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoev and the crown prince of the emirate of Abu Dhabi, Muhammad bin Zayed al-Nahyan, the deputy supreme commander of the U.A.E. armed forces.
In 2018, the trade turnover between Uzbekistan and the United Arab Emirates amounted to almost $ 400 million. Mirziyoyev said that the turnover grew in comparison with the past years, but the potential for cooperation could not be considered fully involved. The intergovernmental commission for trade-economic and scientific-technical cooperation was tasked to bring the turnover to $ 1 billion a year.
In particular, hopes are pinned on the tourism industry. In 2018, the flow of tourists from the United Arab Emirates to Uzbekistan increased one and a half times. From March 20, Uzbekistan offers a visa-free regime for citizens of the UAE. As expected, this will further increase the number of tourists.
After the talks, the parties exchanged signed documents on cooperation in the areas of investment, finance, alternative energy, industrial and infrastructure development, agriculture, and customs administration. It is the “cost” of these documents that the press service of the president of Uzbekistan estimates at $ 10 billion.
Also Mirziyoyev and Sheikh Muhammad bin Zayed Al Nahyan agreed to expand trade ties, implement joint projects in the energy and infrastructure sectors, cooperate in the field of science and education. In addition, the President of Uzbekistan was interviewed by the Prime Minister and the Minister of the Interior of the United Arab Emirates for cooperation in the field of security. Also he visited the Mausoleum and mosque of Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan (the first head of the United Arab Emirates, who died in 2004).
