The official welcoming ceremony of the President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev was held today at the Qasr Al-Vatan Palace in UAE's capital Abu Dhabi.

An honor guard was built to welcome the distinguished guest. Shavkat Mirziyoyev and Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan took the podium, and the national anthems of the Republic of Uzbekistan and the United Arab Emirates were played.

Then the negotiations began in an expanded format with the participation of official delegations of the two states.

Shavkat Mirziyoyev, expressing appreciation for the warm welcome and hospitality, noted the common religious and spiritual values ​​of the two countries, which serves as the basis for advancing bilateral cooperation in the spirit of mutual trust and respect.

He underscored that the United Arab Emirates in a short period of time created a "miracle" in the desert, becoming one of the worldwide centers for innovation, trade, finance and tourism, and expressed Uzbekistan’s interest in cooperation and exchange experience in these areas.

The Crown prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan highly commended the reforms in Uzbekistan aimed at liberalize the economy, improve the investment climate and strengthen the international prestige of the country.

In 2018, trade turnover between the countries amounted to almost $ 400 million.

Shavkat Mirziyoyev noted that this figure has increased compared to previous years, however, pointed to the huge untapped potential.

The sides commended the outcomes of the third meeting of the Uzbekistan-UAE Intergovernmental Commission on Trade, Economic and Scientific and Technical Cooperation, held on March 12 this year in Tashkent. The intergovernmental commission has been tasked to increase the two-way trade volume to US$ 1 billion in the coming years, launch joint projects for processing raw materials and manufacturing value-added products.

The sides pointed to the huge potential in the field of tourism. Last year, the number of tourists from the UAE increased by 1.5 times. Shavkat Mirziyoyev has recently signed decree introducing visa-free travel for the citizens of the UAE. At the talks, the sides highlighted that this step would contribute not only to boost tourists inflow to Uzbekistan, but also to further enhance trade, economic, scientific, technical and cultural cooperation between the two countries.

The two leaders signed the Joint Statement between the Republic of Uzbekistan and the United Arab Emirates, and oversaw the exchange of signed bilateral accords.

Over 10 billion dollars worth of oil & gas, finance, alternative energy, industrial and infrastructure development, agriculture, and customs deals were signed between the countries.