JEDDAH, 17 September 2004 — Existing close relations between Saudi Arabia and Uzbekistan came in for reference at the Central Asian republic’s 13th independence anniversary celebration here on Tuesday night. Officials, diplomats, business leaders and Uzbek community members were present in large numbers.
The Kingdom was the first to recognize Uzbekistan after it gained freedom from Russia on Sept. 1, 1991, Uzbek Consul General Abduratic Khasihmov told Arab News on the sidelines of the reception. “The subsequent years have only further cemented our bilateral relations, especially after Uzbekistan President Islam Karimov visited the Kingdom in 1992. This was followed by the republic’s foreign minister touring the Kingdom in 1995,” he said.
Uzbekistan opened its consulate in Jeddah in 1992 and upgraded it to consulate general in 1994, he said. The republic opened its embassy in Riyadh in 1995.
Khashimov said that at the bilateral level, the joint economic commission had its first meeting in Riyadh in 1997, followed by the second in Tashkent in 1999. Its third meeting was held earlier this year in Riyadh. “All meetings have been exceptionally successful and paved the way for further strengthening the economic and trade bonds between the two countries,” he said.
Sixteen joint venture projects, including four worth $50 million, were either already operational or in the pipeline, he said and emphasized that the interest among Saudi businessmen to trade with and invest in Uzbekistan is “tremendous.”
Khashimov said his country became a member of the Organization of Islamic Conference in 1994, after it gained the membership of the Islamic Development Bank on Sept. 2, 1993. It was in October 2003 that the initiative of the IDB resulted in Uzbekistan hosting an investment conference in Tashkent. More than 150 Saudi businessmen were among the large number of participants from member countries.
About 4,000 Uzbek pilgrims had been performing Haj each year in the last six to eight years. “The number will remain the same for the upcoming annual pilgrimage,” he said, adding that 2,000 more pilgrims come to perform Umrah each year.
