The sides highly appreciated the progressive development of multifaceted mutually beneficial relations between Uzbekistan and the KSA, including the intensification of dialogue in the political, economic and tourism spheres.

Mutual interest in the further development of comprehensive and long-term cooperation with Saudi Arabia was emphasized, which received an additional impetus and rose to a completely new level thanks to the first historical visit of the Head of Uzbekistan to the KSA in August of this year in 30 years.

In particular, during the visit, agreements worth 15 billion were signed with Saudi Arabian companies and agreements were reached on the implementation of 14 joint projects in the fields of energy, chemistry, healthcare, agriculture, construction, pharmaceuticals, infrastructure, etc.

The issues of bilateral trade between the two countries were touched upon. The sides noted that there are great opportunities for further development of trade relations between Uzbekistan and Saudi Arabia, bearing in mind the expansion of the range of goods supplied and the expansion of transport and logistics ties.

In a separate order, the issues of organizing the Hajj and Umrah pilgrimage for Uzbeks were discussed. The parties welcomed the abolition of quotas for Umrah from October 2018, which created conditions for the implementation of the intentions of the population, previously forced to wait for such an opportunity for a long time. An agreement was reached to intensify work on optimizing the conditions for Uzbek pilgrims to pass border and customs control, electronic registration of biometric data.

Following the meeting, the sides expressed mutual commitment to the accelerated implementation of all the issues and initiatives discussed, the press service of the MIVT of the Republic of Uzbekistan reports.