Japan-Uzbekistan Relations
Japan-Uzbekistan Foreign Ministers’ Meeting
May 18, 2019
On May 18, commencing at 4:05 p.m. (local time; same day, 8:05 p.m. JST) for approximately 40 minutes, Mr. Taro Kono, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan, held a meeting with H.E. Mr. Abdulaziz KAMILOV, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Uzbekistan during his visit to Tajikistan. The overview of the meeting is as follows.
1. Opening Remarks
(1) Minister Kono stated that he would like to cooperate with Minister Kamilov toward the further development of the strategic partnership of the two countries, and expressed Japan’s willingness to cooperate with Uzbekistan, which possesses abundant tourism resources, to strengthen regional cooperation through tourism and to continually support the “open, stable and self-sustained development” of Central Asia.
(2) Minister Kamilov stated that he was pleased that cooperation between Japan and Uzbekistan had been advancing in a wide range of fields through bilateral relations and the “Central Asia plus Japan” Dialogue.
(2) Minister Kamilov stated that he was pleased that cooperation between Japan and Uzbekistan had been advancing in a wide range of fields through bilateral relations and the “Central Asia plus Japan” Dialogue.
2. Bilateral Relations
(1) Minister Kono expressed his appreciation for Uzbekistan’s achievements in the progress of economic liberalization and other domestic reforms as well as the enhancement of cooperation with the other Central Asian countries under the leadership of President Mirziyoyev. Also, he stated that taking advantage of the momentum accelerated by various initiatives for the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic games in 2020 (e.g. host town), he would like to make his effort in cooperating toward further development of people-to-people exchanges, including those between local governments.
(2) Minister Kamilov gave an explanation about the on-going process of domestic economic reforms and expressed his expectation for further investment from Japan. Moreover, he stated that Japan and Uzbekistan have ties in their hearts, referring to the examples of the cemeteries for the deceased Japanese in Uzbekistan and the Navoi Theater, and expressed his intention to promote people-to-people and cultural exchanges.
(3) The two ministers also shared the view on arranging the schedule for a visit to Japan by President Mirziyoyev.
(2) Minister Kamilov gave an explanation about the on-going process of domestic economic reforms and expressed his expectation for further investment from Japan. Moreover, he stated that Japan and Uzbekistan have ties in their hearts, referring to the examples of the cemeteries for the deceased Japanese in Uzbekistan and the Navoi Theater, and expressed his intention to promote people-to-people and cultural exchanges.
(3) The two ministers also shared the view on arranging the schedule for a visit to Japan by President Mirziyoyev.