A meeting between the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev and the President of the French Republic Emmanuel Macron was held in a narrow format at the Congress Center of Samarkand.

At the beginning of the meeting, the Leader of Uzbekistan noted the historical significance of the French President’s first visit to Uzbekistan over the past 30 years.

Emmanuel Macron thanked the President of Uzbekistan for the invitation, as well as the warm reception and hospitality extended to the French delegation.

He also expressed full support for the ongoing irreversible reforms in New Uzbekistan. 

The leaders extensively discussed the issues of further enhancing comprehensive Uzbek-French cooperation and agreed to bring bilateral relations to the level of strategic partnership.

It was emphasized that Uzbek-French multifaceted relations have been dynamically developing in all spheres over recent years.

The multiple growth of trade turnover and the number of joint ventures was noted with satisfaction. The portfolio of active and promising investment projects exceeded 10 billion euros.

Strategic Partnership Program worth 1 billion euros, is being implemented in cooperation with the French Development Agency.

Measures to promote new large-scale projects in green energy, extraction and processing of raw materials, innovative agriculture, water supply, logistics, infrastructure development, tourism, and other spheres were discussed.

French side expressed its readiness to further support Uzbekistan’s efforts to strengthen confidence in Central Asia, Uzbekistan’s accession to the WTO, and the early signing of the Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation Agreement with the European Union.

The importance of continuing political dialogue, strengthening security cooperation and effectively countering emerging challenges and threats was emphasized.

The rich cultural and humanitarian agenda was noted with satisfaction. The growing interest in learning the French language in Uzbekistan was emphasized. In this regard, the parties welcomed the opening of the French Alliance's branch in Samarkand.

An agreement was reached to accelerate the establishment of an Uzbek–France higher education institution in Tashkent and expand cooperation in training French language teachers.

The leader also exchanged views on current issues of international and regional agenda.