Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- On 31 May, a meeting of the delegation of Uzbekistan as part of the country’s leading research and analytical centers with the Italian Mediterranean Institute for Asia and Africa (ISMAA) took place in Rome.

The Mediterranean Institute for Asia and Africa is a non-profit think tank founded in 2017. The purpose of the institute is to promote dialogue between Italy and the countries of Asia and Africa, to strengthen and promote international cooperation in the field of economy and culture, science and research.

Representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, leading companies, research institutes of Italy, as well as ISMAA experts took part in the event.

The representative composition of the meeting participants made it possible to discuss in detail the issues of deepening Uzbek-Italian relations, the current state and prospects for regional cooperation in Central Asia, as well as the role of Brussels and Rome in ensuring the sustainable development of the region.

As the director of the Institute for Strategic and Interregional Studies under the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Eldor Aripov noted, contacts between our peoples have a centuries-old tradition of diplomatic, trade, economic and cultural ties. Today, the interaction of countries is filled with new content, cooperation is consistently expanding at the level of ministries and departments, regions, as well as between the business circles of Uzbekistan and Italy.

Speaking about regional cooperation, the director of ISMI emphasized that today Central Asia is becoming more and more consolidated, resistant to internal and external challenges.

Separately assessing the current state of relations between the countries of Central Asia and the European Union, Eldor Aripov noted that the multilateral dialogue between the two regions had reached a qualitatively new level.

Today the EU is one of the major trade, economic and investment partners of the region. The European Union accounts for more than a third of the total volume of foreign trade in Central Asia, as well as about 40% of all attracted investments.

In turn, the Italian side confirmed the great interest of Rome in the positive changes taking place in recent years in Uzbekistan and in Central Asia as a whole.

As the former Italian Ambassador to Uzbekistan R. Manar emphasized, large-scale reforms carried out in the country under the leadership of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev have a significant impact on the entire region. “Stability and predictability” are becoming, thanks to Uzbekistan, the hallmark of the entire Central Asian region. Italy fully supports them and is ready to provide every possible assistance to the sustainable development of the region.

Following the meeting, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the Institute for Strategic and Interregional Studies under the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan and the Mediterranean Institute of Asia and Africa.

Within the framework of the document, it is planned to implement joint research projects, publish their results, hold conferences and round tables on topical issues of bilateral relations and regional cooperation.