Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) — President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev and Prime Minister of the Italian Republic Giorgia Meloni held high-level talks at the Congress Center in Samarkand, both in a one-on-one format and with the participation of official delegations.

The meeting focused on deepening the strategic partnership and expanding multifaceted cooperation between Uzbekistan and Italy.

Both sides expressed satisfaction with the steady implementation of the agreements reached during President Mirziyoyev’s official visit to Italy in June 2023. In recent years, bilateral trade has nearly tripled, driven in part by the diversification of exchanged goods.

The number of joint ventures and projects has doubled, and mutually beneficial cooperation has been established with leading Italian companies in metallurgy, electrical engineering, agriculture, livestock, tourism, and other sectors.

Cultural cooperation has also intensified, with Uzbekistan’s active participation in the Venice Biennale, a successful exhibition in Florence, and the Days of Uzbek Culture in Rome and Viareggio in December 2024.

Branches of the Universities of Turin and Pisa are operating successfully in Uzbekistan, and the second Rectors’ Forum was held in April with positive results.

The two leaders reaffirmed their commitment to continued political dialogue and expressed readiness to enhance cooperation with European Union institutions, especially following the April summit in Samarkand. They underscored the importance of holding a "Central Asia – Italy" summit with a focus on practical outcomes.

The parties agreed to expand technical assistance programs for businesses, including training Uzbek exporters to enter the EU market, establishing a joint Certification Center in Tashkent, and accelerating the adoption of a Conformity Assessment Agreement.

President Mirziyoyev proposed launching a Technological Partnership Program with leading Italian companies.

Priority areas include private sector innovation projects, deep processing of critical minerals and agricultural raw materials, production of automotive components, high-tech products in electrical engineering, energy, food processing, pharmaceuticals, and construction, as well as the creation of design centers in the textile, leather, furniture, and other industries.

These projects are expected to be located in a new industrial park in Tashkent Region, to be managed by a European operator.

To support new initiatives, the parties will consider creating a joint investment fund and engaging Italian public agencies such as SACE and SIMEST.

Special attention was paid to developing full-scale scientific and technological cooperation in agriculture through a joint roadmap. Promising areas include the cultivation of grapes, olives, saffron, and asparagus, the establishment of agro-laboratories, biotechnology development, and the implementation of agri-insurance systems.

To promote new projects, it was agreed to resume the work of the Intergovernmental Group and to hold its next meeting in a business forum format involving entrepreneurs from both countries.

In the context of interregional cooperation, both sides stressed the importance of achieving practical outcomes during the upcoming visit of Lombardy Governor Attilio Fontana and the first Uzbekistan–Italy Regional Forum.

In education, the parties supported initiatives to open a branch of the University of Tuscia in Uzbekistan and to launch dual-degree programs with the universities of Pisa, Trento, Roma Tre, and Ca' Foscari.

The two countries also agreed to organize Days of Italian Culture in Uzbekistan.

The signing of a bilateral agreement on labor migration, which provides for systematic cooperation in this area, was welcomed as a significant outcome of the visit.

Following the talks, the parties agreed to develop a comprehensive roadmap to implement the agreements reached.