The President of Uzbekistan and the Prime Minister of Malaysia agreed to expand cooperation in the fields of Islamic finance, Halal certification, artificial intelligence, and tourism. "Umra plus" program on pilgrimage tourism will be launched. The President said that he is ready to establish the Uzbekistan-Malaysia industrial zone.

On May 17, Shavkat Mirziyoyev and Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, who came to Uzbekistan on an official visit, held talks with the participation of the delegations of the two countries, the press service of the President reports.

The sides discussed issues of expanding friendship and multilateral partnership between the two countries. The head of Uzbekistan noted that this high-level visit, which is held for the first time in the last 16 years, opens a new era in the history of bilateral relations.

"Malaysia is a rapidly growing country with great potential not only in the Southeast Asian region, but also globally. "Our main goal is to raise relations with your country to a new level in terms of quality," he said.

During the negotiations, special attention was paid to strengthening political dialogue and inter-parliamentary relations, continuing mutual support within international organizations, implementing humanitarian and educational programs, and activating tourism and cultural exchange.

Opinions were exchanged on issues of practical cooperation in the trade, economic and investment spheres.

According to the report, the volume of trade has more than doubled by the end of last year, the number of joint ventures is increasing, and the number of flights between Tashkent and Kuala Lumpur is increasing.

The countries are planning to ensure further growth of mutual trade volume and to balance their indicators, to implement large joint projects.

Confidence was expressed that the results of the Uzbekistan-Malaysia business forum, which will be held as part of the visit, will serve to expand investment partnership, cooperation of leading companies in the fields of innovation, industry, "green" energy, petrochemical, electrical engineering and electronics, pharmaceuticals and other fields.

Shavkat Mirziyoyev said that the country is ready to establish the Uzbekistan-Malaysia industrial zone.

Prospects of cooperation in agriculture, including introduction of water saving technologies, cultivation and processing of fruit and vegetable products, certification according to "Halal" standards were considered.

Issues of partnership in the field of information technology, poverty reduction and increasing transport dependence were discussed.

In order to systematically expand the agenda of trade and economic cooperation, it was emphasized that the current Joint Committee on Trade should be transformed into an Intergovernmental Commission and its first meeting should be held this year.

A firm desire to activate cultural-humanitarian exchange was expressed.

The importance of expanding cooperation in the fields of training and qualification of personnel, energy, Islamic finance, ecology, artificial intelligence, tourism, and strengthening scientific and practical relations in the field of health care was emphasized.

It was noted that the flow of Malaysian tourists to Uzbekistan is growing rapidly. "Implementation of joint programs on pilgrimage tourism, including the promotion of the Umra Plus project, and measures to strengthen communication between our youth were discussed," the report said.

The leaders also exchanged views on current aspects of regional cooperation in Central and South-Eastern Asia and the issue of Afghanistan. The importance of continuing mutual support within the framework of the UN, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and the Non-Aligned Movement was emphasized.

An initiative was taken to consider the proposal to establish a dialogue of foreign ministers in the format of "Central Asia + ASEAN".

Following the negotiations, the President of Uzbekistan and the Prime Minister of Malaysia signed a joint statement on deepening multilateral cooperation.