Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- In accordance with the program of official events in the city of Rome, President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev held talks with the Chairman of the Council of Ministers of Italy, George Meloni, in the Chigi Palace.

The head of our state sincerely thanked for the cordiality and warm hospitality on Italian soil.

It was emphasized that Italy is an important and reliable partner of Uzbekistan in Europe, with which cooperation in the field of politics, security, economy, energy, cultural and humanitarian sphere has intensified in recent years.

Today, with the establishment of a strategic partnership, relations between the two countries have reached an unprecedented high level. This historic event, without exaggeration, is the beginning of an important stage in the further development of the Uzbek-Italian multifaceted cooperation.

Prime Minister George Meloni expressed her full support and confidence in the success of the ongoing program of irreversible democratic and economic reforms in New Uzbekistan.

The leaders of the two countries substantively discussed the prospects for further deepening relations in priority areas.

It was noted that the main task is to further expand trade and economic cooperation. The volume of mutual trade and investment has doubled in recent years. There are successful examples of industrial cooperation with leading Italian companies in the field of metallurgy, energy, electrical engineering and other sectors of the economy.

During the business forum held the day before, a package of investment agreements and trade contracts worth over 9 billion euros was signed.

Taking into account the great opportunities for building up practical cooperation, the parties spoke in favor of promoting joint projects of technological and innovative cooperation.

The importance of stimulating direct contacts between the regions of the two countries was noted.

It was indicated that there is a great potential for developing cooperation in the fields of culture, learning the Italian language, education and tourism.

The Prime Minister supported the efforts of Uzbekistan to strengthen the atmosphere of partnership, good neighborliness and trust in Central Asia, and also spoke in favor of the further development of the Italy-Central Asia cooperation format.

Regarding the situation in Afghanistan, the importance of continuing humanitarian assistance to the Afghan people, including using the capabilities of the logistics center in the city of Termez, was emphasized.

At the end of the meeting, President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev invited Italian Prime Minister George Meloni to pay a visit to our country.