A delegation of Uzbekistan’s leading research and analytical centers met with the Italian Mediterranean Institute for Asia and Africa (ISMAA) in Rome.

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

The event was attended by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs representatives, leading companies, Italian research institutes, and ISMAA experts.

The representative composition of the meeting made it possible to discuss in detail the deepening of Uzbekistan – Italian relations, the current state and prospects of regional interaction in Central Asia, and the role of Brussels and Rome in ensuring the region’s sustainable development.

According to Eldor Aripov, Director of the Institute for Strategic and Regional Studies under the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan, contacts between our two nations have a centuries-old tradition of diplomatic, trade, economic and cultural ties. Today, the interaction between the countries is being filled with new content, and cooperation at the level of ministries and agencies, regions, and between business circles of Uzbekistan and Italy has been consistently expanding.

Regarding regional cooperation, ISRS Director stressed that Central Asia is becoming more consolidated and resistant to internal and external challenges.

Assessing the current state of relations between 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 region's primary trade, economic, and investment partners. The EU accounts for more than a third of Central Asia’s total foreign trade and about 40% of all investments attracted.

In turn, the Italian side confirmed Rome’s great interest in the positive changes in recent years in Uzbekistan and Central Asia.

As former Italian Ambassador to Uzbekistan R.Manar stressed, the large-scale reforms implemented 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 Central Asian region. Italy fully supports them and is ready to contribute in any way possible to the region’s sustainable development.

Following the meeting, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the Institute for Strategic and Regional 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, and hold conferences and roundtable discussions on the current issues of bilateral relations and regional cooperation.

UzA