Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- On 29 September, a meeting was held at the Ministry of Transport of Uzbekistan with a delegation from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia headed by Minister for Hajj and Umrah Tawfiq bin Fawzan al-Rabiah.

During the talks, issues of developing cooperation between Saudi Arabia and Uzbekistan in the field of transport were discussed. In particular, issues were discussed on increasing the number of regular flights between the two countries, as well as expanding relations in the field of tourism.

Minister of Transport of Uzbekistan Ilkhom Makhkamov stressed that today relations between the two countries in the field of transport are developing dynamically. During the state visit of the President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on 17-19 August 2022, a memorandum of understanding in the field of civil aviation was signed between the transport administrations of the two countries. This document opened up new prospects for cooperation. During this visit, important agreements were also reached on the further expansion of existing relations between the two countries in the field of transport, in particular, air transport, organizing regular flights between the cities of the two countries.

As a result, today Uzbekistan Airways operates 7 flights a week on the Tashkent-Jeddah-Tashkent route. Uzbekistan Airways has also been granted the right to carry out commercial transportation of goods on existing flights as part of the Hajj and Umrah.

Tawfiq bin Fawzan al-Rabiah expressed his gratitude to the Government of Uzbekistan for the assistance provided to Saudi Arabian airlines in creating conditions for flights to Uzbekistan. In particular, he noted with satisfaction that as a result of granting Flynas the right to fly to the cities of Uzbekistan, the company launched flights on the Jeddah-Tashkent-Jeddah route twice a week.

At the meeting, in order to effectively implement the agreements reached by Uzbekistan and strengthen comprehensive cooperation between the two countries, Saudi Arabian airlines were invited to open regular flights to the historical cities of Uzbekistan, namely to Samarkand, Bukhara and Urgench as part of the Pilgrimage Tourism program.

During the negotiations, the parties agreed to use the existing opportunities to the fullest to increase the flow of tourists from Saudi Arabia to Uzbekistan and the countries of Central Asia.

The parties also agreed to complete the development of an updated draft Air Transport Agreement and sign it in the near future.