Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- On 15 April, the first round of Uzbek-Hungarian consultations in the consular and legal sphere took place in Budapest, Dunyo news agency reports.

The delegation of Uzbekistan was headed by Deputy Head of the Consular and Legal Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Rustam Nazarov, the Hungarian delegation was headed by Balazs Farkas, Director of the Consular Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade.

The consultations were opened by the Deputy Secretary of State of the Foreign Ministry of Hungary Adam Stifter and the Ambassador of Uzbekistan Oybek Shakhavdinov with a welcoming speech.

During the consultations, the parties “synchronized watches” and discussed a wide range of issues of bilateral cooperation in the consular field related to facilitating mutual travel of citizens, further expanding the legal framework on consular issues, as well as protecting the rights and interests of compatriots and legal entities in the territory of the two countries .

During the event, the Uzbek side introduced the measures taken by the republic to improve the consular and legal sphere, in particular the introduction of modern information and communication technologies in the activities of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to provide consular services to Uzbek citizens abroad and foreign citizens in Uzbekistan, the gradual transfer of consular services to electronic format , liberalization of the visa regime, as well as the beginning of the provision of driver’s licenses, electronic digital signatures (EDS) and personal identification numbers of individuals (PINFL) by foreign agencies of Uzbekistan.

The parties noted that these consular consultations between the two foreign ministries are being held for the first time and they will help strengthen cooperation and establish close ties between the departments of the two countries.

Following the negotiations, the parties confirmed their readiness to further strengthen and expand cooperation on consular issues on a regular basis.

The parties also agreed to hold a second round of consular consultations at the level of heads of consular services in 2025 in Uzbekistan.