The Sultanate of Brunei has marked another milestone with the signing of an agreement between Darussalam Holdings Sdn Bhd and Uzbektourism, a national company of Uzbekistan, to promote tourism in both countries.

Signing on behalf of Darussalam Holdings Sdn Bhd was its Managing Director, Hj Mahmud Hj Mohamed, while Uzbektourism was represented by Uzbekistan’s Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Anvar Salikhbaev, Brudirect.com News reported.

Uzbekistan has plenty to offer with its beautiful architecture and monuments. It is also the birthplace of Imam Bukhari, an eminent scholar of hadith, and other prominent figures in the history of Islam.

In the 8th century, the armies of an Arab caliph invaded Mawarannahr ("The Land Beyond River"), the territory between the Amudarya river, the Syrdarya river and the land of Khorasan lying to the south of the Amudarya river.

Darussalam Holdings hopes to put Brunei on the map by bringing in tourists from Uzbekistan and regional countries such as Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan and Tajikistan.

Darussalam Holdings aims to be the leading Islamic tour operator in the Sultanate by putting together tour packages focusing on Islamic historical places.

Since 2006, it has organised tours to Istanbul, Shanghai and Beijing. For 2007-2008, it will be organising tours to a number of countries such as Uzbekistan, Iran, Egypt and Jordan.