ISTANBUL

Uzbekistan and Qatar on Tuesday agreed to create a coordination council to implement their bilateral agreements.

“In order to ensure the timely implementation of agreements, the leaders of Uzbekistan and Qatar advocated the creation of a Coordination Council at the level of the heads of the foreign affairs departments of the two countries,” said a statement by the Uzbek presidency following a meeting between President Shavkat Mirziyoyev and visiting Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani in the Uzbek capital Tashkent.

The statement said the two leaders discussed issues related to further strengthening political dialogue and expanding trade, economic, investment, cultural, and humanitarian cooperation between the two countries.

It further said Mirziyoyev and Sheikh Tamim noted the intensive contacts and exchanges at all levels between Uzbekistan and Qatar, stating the volume of mutual trade is growing and that the implementation of major projects has begun “with the participation of leading Qatari companies.”

“Particular attention is paid to promoting new joint investment projects, in particular in the fields of green energy, industry, agriculture, infrastructure development, the banking and financial sector, education, healthcare, and tourism,” the statement said.

It said that ways to further expand cooperation in the field of transport and logistics were considered during the meeting, adding that the Qatari side particularly expressed support for the Trans-Afghan Railway construction project.

The Qatari emir arrived in Tashkent earlier in the day and participated in a ceremony to award the International Anti-Corruption Excellence Award, an annual award presented to those contributing to the global campaign against corruption.