Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- After organizing the official visit of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev to Japan in December 2019, bilateral relations have risen to a qualitatively new level of cooperation and cover new areas.

On 20 August, at the Embassy of Uzbekistan in Tokyo, a meeting was held with the executive director of the Japan National Petroleum Association, former Ambassador of Japan to Uzbekistan Fumihiko Kato, during which issues of further intensifying cooperation with Japan in trade, economic, cultural and humanitarian spheres were discussed.

F. Kato highly appreciated that despite the coronavirus pandemic, close contacts remain between the partners of Japan and Uzbekistan, which are maintained through videoconferencing and online communications.

During the meeting, special attention was paid to issues of cultural and humanitarian cooperation, in particular the practical implementation of the initiative to create a memorial complex in memory of the famous Japanese archaeologist, Professor Kyuzo Kato.

Kato emphasized that he was personally acquainted with K.Kato and met several times in Tashkent, when he was the Japanese ambassador to Uzbekistan, as well as in Termez during his trips to the Surkhandarya region.

He highly appreciated the great attention that the leadership of Uzbekistan pays to the memory of the Japanese archaeologist and expressed readiness to help perpetuate his contribution to the study of the history of the development of Buddhism in Uzbekistan.

An agreement was reached to jointly study the issues of involving various Japanese organizations and foundations in the practical implementation of this initiative.