Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- The international initiatives of Uzbekistan, put forward by the head of our state from the international tribunes, find wide support among the socio-political and expert circles of foreign countries. Representatives of Japan follow with great interest the modern development of Uzbekistan and highly appreciate the active position of the republic on topical issues of the global agenda.

Member of the House of Representatives of Parliament, former Parliamentary Deputy Minister of Finance of Japan Shinichi Isa:

- For many years I have been experiencing warm relations with Uzbekistan and the Uzbek people, about which I have the warmest impressions. During my trip as part of the parliamentary mission to Uzbekistan in 2017, I had the opportunity to learn about the history, warm friendly relations between Uzbekistan and Japan, saw the State Academic Ballet Theater named after A. Navoi built by Japanese citizens and the respect of the Uzbek people for the memory of its builders.

In the minds of the Japanese, Uzbekistan is personified with the ancient center of the Great Silk Road, which from time immemorial connected East and West.

The official visit of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev to Japan in December 2019 opened a new page in the traditionally friendly relations between our countries. Thanks to its results, Japanese companies began to show great interest in cooperation with Uzbekistan. This visit created a unique fundamental platform for enhancing multifaceted bilateral ties, including in the trade and economic sphere. In my opinion, this is precisely one of the important results of the visit at the highest level, and I am sure that the Uzbek-Japanese relations will deepen.

In Japan, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev is known not only as a leader who carries out large-scale reforms and transformations in the republic, but also as a far-sighted politician actively promoting diplomatic activities in the international arena.

This is evidenced by the initiatives of President Mirziyoyev aimed at solving global problems, which were put forward during his speech at the 72nd session of the UN General Assembly in 2017.

In my opinion, the five initiatives voiced by the leader of Uzbekistan are really relevant and timely. Thus, I assess the initiatives to ensure security and stability in the Central Asian region, as well as to conduct an open dialogue and strengthen good-neighborly relations, as a strong message from the President of Uzbekistan from the UN grand rostrum to neighboring countries in the region.

During the difficult period of the COVID-19 pandemic, the international community is in a state of disunity, as, unfortunately, some world powers act solely for the benefit of their own interests. In this context, the initiatives of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev to promote dialogue, as well as establish mutual trust and respect, are of particular importance.

Thanks to his efforts, we have witnessed that Uzbekistan has become a strategically important link in promoting intraregional harmony not only in Central Asia, but also at the global level.

Japan, together with Uzbekistan, intends to make efforts to further promote the initiatives of the President of the Republic aimed at ensuring stability and security in the region.

Director General of the Research Institute for Central Asian and Caucasian Studies, Tetsuji Tanaka:

 - Japan appreciates the initiatives in the field of diplomacy and the ongoing large-scale reforms of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev in domestic politics, which have been actively carried out from the first days of his activity as head of state.

It is gratifying to note that of the five initiatives announced by President Mirziyoyev during his speech at the 72nd session of the UN General Assembly, four have already been successfully implemented.

This is the provision and strengthening of security and stability in Central Asia, as well as the development of regional economic cooperation. The format of regular consultations of the heads of state of Central Asia has been implemented. I believe that this is an excellent result of the initiative of the head of the republic in the field of diplomacy, which has made a great contribution to ensuring regional security.

The initiative on the need to increase education and religious tolerance, which ensures the preservation of peace and stability not only in Central Asia, but also on a global scale, also deserves special attention.

Another important initiative of the leader of Uzbekistan is aimed at an early settlement of the Afghan problem, which is a very urgent task. In this regard, Japanese experts highly appreciate the successful high-level international conference on Afghanistan held in March 2018 in Tashkent as a great achievement.

President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, during his speech at the UN General Assembly session, focused on the environmental disaster of the Aral Sea. After taking office as head of state, he has been pursuing a course on strengthening good-neighborly relations with neighboring countries, which helps to build confidence and allows finding solutions to this problem, including the rational use of water resources.

I hope that the fifth initiative of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev - the adoption of the UN International Convention on the Rights of Youth, already discussed at the Samarkand web forum on human rights in August this year, will be supported by the world community in the near future.