Today, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, as part of his state visit to Singapore, held talks with the President Halima Yakub and Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, the Uzbek president’s press service said.
The official welcoming ceremony for Shavkat Mirziyoyev took place at the Istana Presidential Palace. A guard of honor lined up on the square in front of the palace. The military band played the anthems of the two countries.
Then, a ceremony was held to name a new variety of orchids in honor of the President of Uzbekistan - a flower that is the national symbol of Singapore. Such events are traditionally held as a sign of high respect and honor to the distinguished guests of this country and outstanding figures.
By tradition, Shavkat Mirziyoyev personally placed a sign with the name of a new variety of orchids - Shavkat Mirziyoyev Orchid near the flower.
“This is a beautiful and free-flowering hybrid of Encbi Purple and Kila Blue orchids. It produces semi-double inflorescences about 45 cm long, bearing 17 to 20 flowers, each flower about 5 cm across. Lilac-purple petals and sepals have an orchid-purple border,” the presidential press service described.
At the talks, the two leaders reviewed the ways to advance relations between Uzbekistan and Singapore, cooperation in the field of reforms for the further democratization of Uzbekistan social and political spheres.
The counterparts commended the level of cooperation in the educational sphere. Tashkent hosts Singapore Institute for Management Development and the Singapore Academy of Technology, Management and Communications.
The experience of the two countries in the field of regional cooperation and integration in Central and Southeast Asia was considered.
Shavkat Mirziyoyev invited Halima Yakub to visit Uzbekistan at any time convenient for her.
Then, at the Istana residence, the President of Uzbekistan held talks with the Prime Minister of Singapore, Lee Hsien Loong.
The parties considered state and prospects of cooperation in detail and pointed to the positive trend in the cooperation in priority areas. In recent years, the two-way trade has doubled. The number of Singapore-invested enterprises in Uzbekistan has quadrupled. Direct investments from this country into the Uzbek economy topped $700 million, the report said.
The parties pointed to the presence of large untapped potential reserves for building cooperation between the two countries in many areas.
Shavkat Mirziyoyev identified five key areas of cooperation with Singapore in the near future:
“The first is the development of human capital and the training of qualified personnel for public administration. An agreement was reached on the implementation, with the participation of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, of a joint program for the training and advanced training of civil servants in governance, urban planning, infrastructure development, digital transformation, innovation, education and healthcare. In addition, an intensive retraining program for civil servants will be launched at the Academy of Public Administration of Uzbekistan with the involvement of major Singaporean experts.”
“The second area is to involve the Singaporean side to buy stakes in Uzbek state-owned companies Uzbekistan. In this context, the parties discussed the prospects for new projects with the involvement of advanced experience, modern technologies and the management of leading Singaporean companies as part of the privatization of large enterprises in Uzbekistan. I propose to create a joint Investment Fund for the transformation and restructuring of state-owned enterprises with a view to further launching IPOs and attracting foreign investment.”
“The third priority is the attraction of Singapore's advanced "green" technologies and digital solutions.”
“The fourth is the improvement of urban infrastructure and communications. The first step in this area would be an agreement on the establishment in Uzbekistan of a joint Design and Engineering Center for the implementation of infrastructure and industry projects”.
“The fifth area of cooperation, the importance of supporting investments and expanding mutual trade by promoting joint projects with leading Singaporean companies“.
Meanwhile, an agreement was reached on the establishment of $500 million Uzbek-Singapore Investment Company.
Following the talks, the two leaders oversaw an exchange of 8 bilateral accords. In particular:
Agreements on cooperation in the field of education, transport, healthcare, and training of personnel, including civil servants, were adopted. Agreements were also reached on trade and economic cooperation between the prosecutor's offices of the two countries.
In the afternoon, the President of Uzbekistan will visit the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy and meet with the heads of leading Singaporean companies.
Today Shavkat Mirziyoyev will return to Tashkent. The visit was planned for three days, but due to the energy crisis in Uzbekistan, the President decided to shorten it.
