The Central Asian Republic of Uzbekistan is keen to strengthen bilateral ties with the Kingdom as representatives from both sides met in Tashkent and discussed various aspects of bilateral cooperation.

An official at the Uzbek Embassy said on Sunday that Abdulrahman bin Abdullah Al-Shaie, the Saudi ambassador in Tashkent, recently held talks with senior officials at the Foreign Affairs Ministry.

“They discussed practical aspects of bilateral cooperation, suggestions on the schedule of upcoming bilateral contacts in various spheres including cultural ties,” the official said.

He said that in order to further enhance cooperation, Uzbek Minister of Religious Affairs Artikbek Yusupov accompanied by Grand Mufti Usman Khan Alimov visited the Kingdom ahead of Haj this year and discussed various issues concerning their Haj delegation including ways to provide better services and facilities for their Haj pilgrims.

He said that around 6,000 Uzbek pilgrims performed Haj this year, which is a huge number from the Central Asian country.

He asserted that the relationship between the two friendly countries has been growing in all fields including those at the political, economic and cultural levels.

The nature of bilateral trade between the two countries includes imports of plastics from Saudi Arabia while Uzbekistan exports fruits and nuts to the Kingdom.

However, the official emphasized the need for further strengthening relations between the two countries as they are historically linked in terms of Islamic civilization and culture.

The Kingdom shares a historic relationship with the Central Asian Republic. The diplomatic relations between the two countries began in February 1992, after the collapse of the USSR where they subsequently signed a joint communiqué to establish diplomatic relations during the visit of Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal to Uzbekistan.

This was followed by a return visit of President Islam Karimov to Saudi Arabia in April 1992 which paved the way for strengthening relations between the two nations.

Uzbekistan has a rich Islamic civilization with its famous Bukhara region producing Muslim scholars and it shares very cordial relations with the Kingdom.