After the official welcoming ceremony, President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev and President of the Republic of Korea Moon Jae-in held talks in narrow and expanded formats.

The Information and Mass Media Agency under the President Administration responded to the statement by OSCE Media Freedom Representative, Harlem Desir in which he called on the authorities in Uzbekistan to end the blocking of media outlets and urged to undertake reforms of the media laws and regulations.

The President of the Republic of Korea, Moon Jae-in today arrived in Uzbekistan on a state visit, the presidential press service said.

Uzbekistan Airways announced it would launch twice a week regular flights to Jakarta as of May 1, with a stopover in Kuala Lumpur once a week.

Uzbekistan has left the black zone climbing 5 places to 160th among 180 countries in the 2019 World Press Freedom Index compiled by the International Organisation Reporters Without Borders (RSF). 

President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, by his April 17 decree, approved the Uzbekistan’s Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) Treatment Strategy for 2019-2028.

“While continuing to tap the cooperation potential, including the development of gas fields and the construction of power plants, it is also important to expand cooperation to such knowledge-based sectors as ITs, 5G, space technologies and hi-tech industries, including medicine and bioindustry, ” South Korean President Moon Jae-in told the Xalq So’zi newspaper in an interview.

Special tactical drills, attended by the units of the Ministries of Defense and Inerior, State Security Service, National Guard and Border Troops, began in the Surkhandarya province of Uzbekistan, which borders Afghanistan.

Uzbek authorities and Airbus signed a Letter of Intent Wednesday for supply of 34 helicopters to Uzbekistan, Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne, the Secretary of State to the French Minister for European and Foreign Affairs said at a press briefing.

The inspection conducted by the State Labor Inspection Authority confirmed the facts of forced labor in Andijan, the Ministry of Labor said.

The Tashkent Interdistrict Economic Court ruled that Tashkent mayor’s office shall pay 2.7 billion soums 350 thousan in compensation for the seizing of the land plot for government needs where Tumaris confectionery factory is located, the Chamber of Commerce (CCI) of Uzbekistan said.

Foreign Minister Abdulaziz Kamilov today hosted a French delegation led by the Secretary of State to the Minister for European and Foreign Affairs Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne and the co-chair of the Intergovernmental Commission for Trade and Economic Cooperation, the Uzbek Foreign Ministry said.

Modestas Kaselyauskas from Lithuania has been appointed permanent adviser at the Tax Committee (TC) of Uzbekistan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the committee said in a statement.

President Shavkat Mirziyoyev yesterday hosted the visiting UK Minister for Europe, Alan Duncan. Shavkat Mirziyoyev, warmly welcoming the guest, commended the recent upward trend of the Uzbek-British multifaceted ties.

On April 16, on the margins of the XIth International Forum ATOMEXPO-2019 in Sochi, the Agreement of Intent was signed between Uzatom and Rosatom Technical Academy.

As reported earlier, President of the Republic of Korea Moon Jae-in will pay a state visit to Uzbekistan on April 18-21, the presidential press service said.

The Uzbek Foreign Minister Abdulaziz Kamilov today hosted the visiting UK Minister for Europe Alan Duncan. The parties commended the enhanced bilateral ties in the political, economic, trade, investment, tourism, cultural, humanitarian and other fields.

Finnish delegation headed by Mr. M. Keynenen, Deputy State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland was hosted by the leadership of the National Agency for Project Management under the President of Uzbekistan on Friday. The delegation also included the Ambassador of Finland Marya Liivala, the senior adviser to the Embassy Alexey Leppannen, the attache of the Embassy of Finland Irina Ambrosin, as well as executives of Kaukointernational Ltd and other companies.

The Institute of Nuclear Physics of the Academy of Sciences of Uzbekistan, Rusatom Healthcare, and the industry-specific complex Rusatom-International Network (RIn) signed a Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) in the field of radiation technologies and nuclear medicine, the Uzbek Ministry of Energy said.

A French delegation led by the Secretary of State under the Minister of European and Foreign Affairs, Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne will visit Uzbekistan on April 16-17, 2019, as well as other Central Asian countries Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, the Uzbek Foreign Ministry said.