President of Uzbekistan and OSCE Secretary General Discuss Priorities of Cooperation

On November 17, the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev held talks with the  Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Secretary-General Helga Schmid.

The issues of further developing cooperation with the OSCE in all three dimensions of economic, environmental, political and humanitarian activities were discussed.

The recent intensification of contacts and the development of open and constructive dialogue were noted with satisfaction.

The OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Zbigniew Rau and the OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities Kairat Abdrakhmanov visited Uzbekistan this year alone – the 30th anniversary of cooperation. Fruitful cooperation has been conducted with the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, the Parliamentary Assembly and the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Mass Media.

Projects are being jointly implemented to develop digital skills among the youth and as a part of the Strategy to Combat Terrorism and Extremism until 2026.

During the conversation, the importance of expert support of the OSCE structures was noted, especially in matters of continuing the democratic reforms and developing the civil society institutions in Uzbekistan.

The need for strengthening interaction in the economic and environmental dimension, the implementation of joint projects in the green economy, digitalization, small business and ecology was emphasized.

In the context of discussing current regional and international security issues, special emphasis was placed to the situation in neighboring Afghanistan. An agreement was reached on implementing joint projects to address the urgent humanitarian needs of the Afghan people.