The media of Saudi Arabia write about the state visit of the President of Uzbekistan and the Uzbek-Saudi multilateral cooperation

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- The media of Saudi Arabia promptly cover the state visit of the President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev to the Kingdom, which began today, Dunyo news agency reported.

"The President of Uzbekistan arrived in Medina to pay his respects to the Prophet Muhammad and visit his mosque," the website of the Arab News newspaper said.

The publication also reported that upon arrival at the international airport named after Prince Muhammad bin Abdulaziz, the head of Uzbekistan was met by the acting governor of Medina region, Prince Saud bin Khalid Al-Faisal and other officials.

The leading media of the Kingdom in connection with the state visit of the President of Uzbekistan published a series of materials on the current state and prospects for bilateral cooperation between the two states.

Electronic newspaper "Okaz" reported that relations between Riyadh and Tashkent began in 1991, when the Kingdom was among the first to recognize the independence of Uzbekistan.

“Uzbekistan and Saudi Arabia interact and develop bilateral cooperation on the basis of the Agreement on cooperation in the political, economic, trade, investment and technological fields, on youth and sports, on the protection and promotion of investments, the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement and others. Since 1993, the Saudi Development Fund has been working with the government of Uzbekistan to provide development loans, the most recent of which was financing a modern rural housing project in Karakalpakstan region.

The article notes that the parties pay special attention to the development of economic, trade and investment cooperation on the basis of signed economic agreements. Currently, Uzbekistan and Saudi Arabia are seeking to strengthen economic cooperation in a number of sectors by increasing investment flows between the two countries.

“Strengthening bilateral relations will contribute to a closer understanding of the investment environment in Uzbekistan, the opportunities available for the business sector in the two countries, increase the volume of trade exchanges and investment projects between the countries, as well as expand the exchange of experience in light of stimulating trade and investment systems. Economic openness and the growth of trade exchanges have helped increase Uzbekistan’s readiness to attract Saudi and international investment in a number of important sectors, such as energy, industry and tourism,” the article emphasizes.

“Acwa Power has announced the ceremony of signing an agreement with the Ministry of Energy and the Ministry of Investments and Foreign Trade of the Republic of Uzbekistan on a 1,500 MW wind power project in Karakalpakstan,” Arkam reports. - The company’s statement notes that the cost of the agreement is estimated at US$2.4 billion. The project is expected to close financially by the end of 2023 and be fully operational by the first quarter of 2026.”

The author draws attention to the fact that the design capacity of the new project will allow the plant to meet the energy needs of about 1.65 million housing units, while reducing about 2.4 million tons of carbon emissions annually.

“Over the past five years, the number of Uzbek companies with the participation of Saudi capital has increased from nine to 38. Of these, 19 are private enterprises, and the rest are joint ventures. The two countries will further strengthen ties by signing 12 new agreements as part of the visit of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev to the Kingdom,” wrote the website of the Union of News Agencies of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.

“High-level talks will be held in the city of Jeddah, where the parties will discuss ways to further strengthen multilateral cooperation, as well as issues of the green economy, information technology and digitalization, innovation, small business and entrepreneurship. As a result of the meeting, new agreements will be signed in the fields of energy, telecommunications, agriculture, chemical and petrochemical industries, as well as in the field of culture, sports and education.

The Kingdom has become one of the largest foreign investors in energy infrastructure and one of the most significant developers of green energy projects in Uzbekistan.

The Al-Riyadh newspaper published an article under the heading "Quality Uzbek initiatives in the field of information technology and information security."

“Successes in the field of socio-economic development achieved in the Republic of Uzbekistan in recent years are directly related to the ongoing policy of widespread use of modern technologies in the field of information and communications,” the author of the article writes. “Uzbekistan is a vivid example of the fruitful integration of the information technology system in all areas related to improving the efficiency of the public administration system, developing the economy and improving areas of work in the social sphere.”

The material notes that innovations in the field of information technology have become an important component of the political course of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev. In many aspects of this path, the leadership initiatives of the Head of State in the information sphere, his readiness and focus on the widespread use of solutions offered by modern information technologies were manifested.

The initiatives of the President of Uzbekistan in the field of information technology and information security have become an important engine for the development of information technology at the national, regional and global levels. Due to the importance and usefulness of these initiatives, they have taken a place on the modern agenda of the most important international organizations and form the basis on which the international community is based in the preparation and adoption of coordination decisions acceptable to all parties.

“The most important initiatives of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev in the field of information technology, which have won worldwide recognition and support, include the proposal put forward at the summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, held on 10 November 2020. The head of Uzbekistan noted the need to intensify cooperation in the field of the digital economy and prepare a special SCO program for the development of digital knowledge, aimed at educating the population and training specialists with experience based on agreed curricula,” says the author.

The article pays special attention to the fact that Uzbekistan also supports the multilateral efforts of the UN in the field of information security. Tashkent considers it necessary to continue work through two groups of experts created by the UN - the UN Open-ended Working Group on Security in the Use of IT Technologies in 2021-2025, as well as the Open-ended Intergovernmental Committee of Experts.

“In a short historical period, Uzbekistan has become a regional leader in the field of digitalization and informatics, and in this sense is open for international cooperation in the implementation of new cross-border projects in the field of information technology, as well as in reducing the risks of misuse of information and communication technologies,” the newspaper emphasizes. Al Riyadh.