Egypt and Uzbekistan agreed to foster trade, investment and economic relations and work to increase bilateral trade exchange.
This came in a joint statement issued at the conclusion of the talks held here between Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi and his Uzbek counterpart Shavkat Mirziyoyev.
During their talks, the two presidents stressed the importance of enhancing the activities of the joint committee for scientific, economic and technical cooperation, as well as the activities of the Egyptian-Uzbek business forum.
The pair welcomed the signing of a number of agreements and memorandums of understanding in several fields.
The two leaders voiced deep concern over the spread of terrorism, for being one the most serious security threats to humanity and condemned the use of religion to justify, support or sponsor terrorism.
In this regard, Sisi and Mirziyoyev underlined the importance of joint action by the international community to eliminate terrorism.
The pair called for uprooting terrorist networks and destroying their safe havens, eliminating their infrastructure and financing channels, in addition to preventing the movement of terrorist elements across borders.
They also urged confronting attempts by terrorist organizations to use the internet and social media platforms to propagate their extremist thought and recruit youth.
Sisi and Mirziyoyev stressed the necessity of bolstering security and stability in Afghanistan and denying terrorists and extremists safe havens there, along with backing the relief efforts and humanitarian work in Afghanistan in order to avoid a humanitarian crisis.
The Uzbek leader lauded the key role played by Egyptian religious institutions, notably Al Azhar, in fighting against the extremist thought.
The two presidents expressed satisfaction with the level of coordination between their countries in international forums, including the United Nations, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA).
On that score, the pair affirmed the significance of maintaining close cooperation in international and regional forums on all issues of mutual interest.
Mirziyoyev praised Sisi’s efforts to bring about peace and stability in the Middle East, especially with regard to finding a last and just solution to the Palestinian problem, as well as seeking to restore stability to Libya.
The Egyptian president commended the Uzbek leader’s policy that aims to create an atmosphere of mutual trust, friendship and good neighborliness in the Central Asian region.
The two sides emphasized the importance of respecting the United Nations Charter, international law, the principles of good neighborliness, the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries and non-interference in the internal affairs of countries, as well as resolving disputes peacefully at the bilateral, regional and multilateral levels.
The Uzbek side welcomed Egypt’s accession to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) as a dialogue partner during the 22nd SCO summit held in Samarkand on September 15-16 of 2022.
The pair agreed to cement relations between the two countries’ parliaments, particularly in terms of promoting the activities of friendship groups and exchanging bilateral expertise in the legislative work.
Mirziyoyev congratulated Sisi on Egypt’s successful hosting of the UN Climate Change Conference, COP27, hosted by the Red Sea resort city of Sharm El-Sheikh in November 2022, which made a historic and unprecedented achievement by establishing a Loss and Damage Fund to help developing countries that are most vulnerable to the negative effects of climate change.
In this context, the Uzbek president welcomed the launch of the Global Green Hydrogen Forum, expressing his country’s readiness to cooperate on issues of climate adaptation, combating desertification and finding ways to increase reliance on renewable energy.
The Uzbek president voiced appreciation of the overall reforms introduced by the Egyptian government as part of Egypt’s Vision 2030 to achieve the goals of sustainable development, as well as the social protection programs, such as “Takaful and Karama” and “Decent Life”.
On his part, President Sisi praised the Uzbekistan Development Strategy 2022-2026 and the ambitious reforms initiated by Mirziyoyev.
President Sisi also praised the infrastructure projects implemented by Uzbekistan to strengthen trade movement with different world countries.
The two leaders called for intensifying efforts to increase the number of direct flights between Egypt and Uzbekistan and provide all possible facilitation to promote the movement of tourism and air traffic.
The two leaders agreed to consolidate cooperation between Egyptian and Uzbek universities, where Mirziyoyev said he looks forward to receiving professors from Egypt to teach Arabic at the Tashkent State University of Oriental Studies, the International Islamic Academy of Uzbekistan and the University of World Economy and Diplomacy.
Sisi and Mirziyoyev affirmed their commitment to deepening cultural interaction between Egyptian and Uzbek peoples and enhancing participation in joint cultural and artistic events, in addition to the organization of cultural days, exhibitions, art festivals, folklore shows, and tourism exhibitions in Cairo and Tashkent.
The two leaders called for expanding cooperation between Egyptian and Uzbek religious institutions to confront extremist ideologies.
Source: State Information Service Egypt