Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- Talks were held between the Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Chairman of the State Committee for Tourism Development Aziz Abdukhakimov with the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Islamic Republic of Iran Hamid Naerobodiy.

Within the framework of the meeting, an agreement was reached on strengthening cooperation in the field of tourism. The parties exchanged experience on mitigating the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic on the tourism industry, discussed plans for priority measures to resume international tourist travel, taking into account the improvement in the pandemic situation and the restoration of direct flights between the countries.

As of 2019, Iran’s population is 83 million people, of which more than 6 million people have traveled abroad, mainly to Turkey, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Iraq and the UAE. Another important issue of the negotiations was the implementation of joint projects for the preservation and restoration of objects of historical and cultural heritage in Uzbekistan, exchange of experience and training of specialists in this field; as well as promotion of common objects of intangible cultural heritage and elaboration of their inclusion in the UNESCO list, given that the history, culture, traditions and customs, cuisine of the peoples of Uzbekistan and Iran are closely intertwined with each other.

Hamid Naerobodiy said that the Iranian government is watching with great pleasure how Uzbekistan is moving forward at a fast pace, emphasizing the huge role of the policy of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev in promoting the country and creating the future "Third Renaissance" of Uzbekistan.

The Iranian side reaffirmed its high interest in expanding inter-parliamentary, trade, economic, cultural and tourism ties. Following the meeting, the parties reached an agreement to accelerate preparations for signing the Intergovernmental Program of Cooperation in Tourism for 2020-2023 and the Intergovernmental Agreement on Cooperation in the Field of Culture and Art between the Republic of Uzbekistan and the Islamic Republic of Iran.

The parties also agreed to organize a visit of a delegation of Iranian experts and craftsmen to Uzbekistan to draw up a "road map" and determine the details of the upcoming restoration work.

In addition, in order to develop medical tourism, the Iranian side plans to create a modern Health Center in the Samarkand region with the involvement of specialists and technology from Iran, where opportunities will be created even for complex medical operations.

It should be noted that during the meeting of the Council of Heads of Government of the SCO in Tashkent on 2 November 2019, the Prime Minister of the Republic of Uzbekistan Abdulla Aripov and the First Vice President of the Islamic Republic of Iran Iskhak Jahangiri reached an agreement on cooperation in the restoration and restoration of historical monuments.