Tashkent: Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister, and Minister of Defence, on Saturday held talks with Abdulla Aripov, Prime Minister of Uzbekistan, on further strengthening UAE-Uzbekistan ties, as part of his official visit to Uzbekistan.
On his X account, Sheikh Hamdan posted: “I also had an insightful exchange of ideas with Her Excellency Saida Mirziyoyeva, Assistant to the President, and attended the UAE-Uzbekistan Government Knowledge Exchange Retreat in Tashkent, focused on identifying new avenues to deepen our strategic partnership.”
The UAE-Uzbekistan strategic partnership, launched in 2019, has placed leadership and capacity building as a key pillar among 14 pillars that focus on excellence in government services. This collaboration has already yielded impressive results: over 2.8 million individuals have received training through more than 681 workshops totalling approximately 26 million working hours.
Military agreement
He added that in another meeting, with Major General Bakhodir Kurbanov, Minister of Defence, they discussed collaboration across sectors and witnessed the signing of an agreement focused on bolstering cooperation in training, education, and the exchange of defence industry expertise.
“The UAE leadership remains dedicated to fostering partnerships that promote prosperity and growth for the people of both nations,” Sheikh Hamdan said.
The MoU was signed by Mattar Salem Al Dhaheri, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Defence, on behalf of the UAE, and Norboev Alisher Tokhtaevich, Deputy Minister of Defence for Armament and Equipment, on behalf of Uzbekistan.
The meeting was attended by Mohammad bin Abdullah Al Gergawi, Minister of Cabinet Affairs; Mattar Salem Al Dhaheri, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Defence; Major General Dr Mubarak Saeed Ghafan Al Jabri, Assistant Undersecretary for Support and Defence Industries within the Ministry of Defence; and Dr Saeed Matar Al Qemzi, the UAE Ambassador to Uzbekistan.
