Erdoğan receives Uzbek president in Ankara

ANKARA

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has received his Uzbek counterpart Shavkat Mirziyoyev at the presidential complex in the capital Ankara for bilateral talks.

Mirziyoyev attended the seventh meeting of the Türkiye-Uzbekistan High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council on the first day of his visit.

Türkiye and Uzbekistan signed more than 20 agreements during the council meeting.

The meeting aims to build on the "comprehensive strategic partnership" established two years ago during Erdoğan's visit to the Asian country.

"I believe that this important visit, which has great meaning for us, will further strengthen our cooperation,” Erdoğan said at a joint news conference with Mirziyoyev.

Noting that Erdoğan's interest and affection for Uzbekistan has increased over the years, Mirziyoyev said the meeting was “very meaningful” and they built “new and stronger bridges for cooperation.”

Türkiye was the first country to recognize Uzbekistan’s independence in 1991, following the dissolution of the Soviet Union.

A new era is also emerging in trade relations between Türkiye and Uzbekistan. The bilateral trade volume, which was $1.2 billion in 2016, became $3.1 billion in 2023.

Türkiye, which was among the top 5 countries in Uzbekistan's foreign trade before 2016, became the country's 4th largest trading partner with a share of 5 percent last year.

After Mirziyoyev took office, positive steps were also taken on the visa issue, which had been a long-standing concern among Turkish businesspeople.

In 2017, the Uzbek government issued a decree granting visas to Turkish citizens within three days. Turkish citizens then received a 30-day visa exemption in February 2018.

As a result, mutual visits between the citizens of the two countries increased.