Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- On 13-14 March 2019, a delegation of Uzbekistan headed by the Minister of Culture Bakhtiyor Sayfullayev visited Singapore.

According to the Uzbek Embassy in Singapore, within the framework of the visit, the Uzbek delegation held meetings with the leadership of the ministries of culture, community and youth, foreign affairs, as well as the Lazalle College of Art, the Islamic Religious Council and the Singapore Interethnic Tolerance Center.

At the beginning of the meeting, the Minister of Culture, Community and Youth Grace Fu stressed: “Uzbekistan occupies a special place in my heart, because after my official visit to Uzbekistan in 2013, I visited the republic again with my elderly parents in 2014”. She also noted that the ancient history, science and education, which was rapidly developing during the Renaissance in the XIV-XV centuries, respect for the monuments of world heritage, as well as the benevolence and hospitality of the Uzbek people left an indelible impression on her.

The minister also praised the activities of the Singapore Management Development Institute (MDIS) branch in Tashkent, where she was able to see for herself the high level of knowledge of Uzbek students in banking, finance, hotel business and others.

Grace Fu noted that since her trip to the republic, she constantly advises her friends to be sure to visit Uzbekistan, the cradle of the Renaissance of Islamic culture, the study of which should be given special attention in Singapore. She supported the opinion on the need to further deepen and expand cultural and humanitarian cooperation, giving it a stable character, including the organization Days of Uzbekistan’s Culture in Singapore and Days of Singapore’s Culture in Uzbekistan.

Mohamad Maliki bin Osman, the Senior State Minister of Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, praised the recent intensification of bilateral relations and emphasized that the existence of such agreements between countries as about avoiding double taxation and preventing income shelter, air traffic, and direct air service is a good prerequisite for increasing communications.

In this context, the State Minister asked to increase the frequency of flights between countries, including air cargo to Singapore, which would increase the volume of tourist traffic from Singapore, including part of the 60-millionth transit traffic passing through the airport "Changi", as well as trade in fresh fruits and vegetables from Of Uzbekistan.

Mohamad Maliki bin Osman, having confirmed the plans of the Singaporean government to create an Islamic college, stressed that the rich Islamic culture of Uzbekistan could enrich the Islamic school of Singapore. He supported the idea of further elaboration of the issue of sending Singaporean teachers and students to study the true foundations of Islamic studies and the culture of Islam in the International Islamic Academy of Uzbekistan.

At the end of the meeting, the state minister said that he was looking forward to his visit to Uzbekistan on April 2-5 to establish friendly contacts with leaders and representatives of a number of ministries and departments of the republic, as well as discuss and get acquainted with promising areas of development of trade, economic, investment and cultural cooperation between countries.

President of the College of Art Lazal Steve Dixon acquainted with the existing infrastructure and the departments of the college, where 2,750 students study. The Singapore side gratefully accepted the proposal of the Uzbek delegation to create a "Corner of scientific and cultural literature of the Republic of Uzbekistan" at the college library.

An agreement was reached on the preparation of the Memorandum and cooperation between the Conservatory of Uzbekistan and the College of Art Lazal, organizing a fashion show, ceramics exhibition and photo expositions of Uzbek sculptors and photographers at the college.

During a visit to the Center for Inter-ethnic Accord at the An-Nahdhah Mosque and a meeting with the Deputy Islamic Religious Council and the Dean of the Islamic Academy Albakri Ahmad, information was presented on the peaceful coexistence of 10 different religions in Singapore and the work carried out by the Center to promote inter-religious tolerance and tolerance.

At the conclusion of the meeting, the Minister of Culture Bakhtiyor Saifullayev invited the leadership of the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore to visit Uzbekistan.