TEHRAN – An Iranian lawmaker has said that the Uzbek president will pay a visit to Iran in June in a bid to strengthen ties with Iran.

The lawmaker, Gholamreza Nouri, who is the head of the Iran-Uzbekistan parliamentary friendship group, said Uzbek officials are interested in boosting relations with Iran, according to IRNA. 

Commenting on the recent visit by Uzbek Parliament Speaker Nurdinjon Ismoilov to Iran, Nouri said, “The level of cooperation between Iran and Uzbekistan is increasing.”

He pointed out that since the Samarkand Summit last year, which was held with the presence of the president, and Iran became an official member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, relations between Iran and Uzbekistan have been on the rise. 

Underlining that many agreements have been signed between the two governments of Iran and Uzbekistan, Nouri said, “The visit of the Speaker of the Parliament of Uzbekistan was made at the invitation of [Mohammad Bagher] Ghalibaf and following the recent visit of the Speaker of the Islamic Majlis to Uzbekistan.”

He added, “The Uzbek parties are interested in using the 117-year experience of legislation in Iran, in these meetings it was decided to carry out parliamentary cooperation at different levels, especially the issue of experience transfer.”

He continued, “During his trip to Iran, the Speaker of the Parliament of Uzbekistan met with the President and also visited the two provinces of Isfahan and Khorasan Razavi and had meetings with the governors and agreements were made with the provinces especially in the field of tourism. The Uzbek side is interested in Isfahan for more and closer cooperation with the provinces, especially in the field of tourism, and is looking for the exchange of tourist guides to introduce the works of the two countries. Uzbekistan also has rich historical works that Iranian artists are interested in helping to restore their works.”

Referring to the visit of the Uzbekistan parliamentary delegation to Mashhad, Nouri said, “In addition to visiting the shrine of Imam Reza, several production units of Danesh Banyan and Science and Technology Park were visited during this trip, and two countries are interested in benefiting from medical knowledge-based equipment of Iran.”

Stating that the Uzbek president will pay a visit to Iran in June, Nouri said, “During this trip, new agreements will be made while following up on past agreements.”

He noted, “Uzbekistan is interested in cooperation with the Islamic Republic, and we hope that during this trip, the necessary infrastructure for the travel between the citizens of the two countries will be facilitated.”

Ismoilov arrived in Tehran late on Friday and met Saturday with his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf.

Qalibaf and Ismoilov held a joint press conference after their meeting. Speaking at a presser, Qalibaf said improving relations with Iran’s neighbors is a priority of Iran’s foreign policy. 

At the beginning of the presser, Qalibaf welcomed his Uzbek counterpart. “We are very happy that today we are hosting the Speaker of the Parliament of Uzbekistan and that he has made his trip to Iran. According to the policies of the Islamic Republic of Iran, which has prioritized the development of relations with neighboring countries and the region, especially Islamic countries, the development of relations with Uzbekistan is one of our priorities,” he said. 

He added, “One of the important axes of our interactions in the development of relations with Uzbekistan is the political, economic and cultural spheres, and as our dear nation knows, the friendly and brotherly country of Uzbekistan ranks first among Central Asian countries in terms of population.”

The Uzbek official met with President Ebrahim Raisi. In this meeting, Raisi underlined the need for the implementation of agreement between the two countries. 

“18 cooperation agreements and memoranda of understanding have been signed between the Islamic Republic of Iran and Uzbekistan, and the acceleration of their implementation will greatly increase the level of relations,” he said, according to the official website of the Iranian presidency.