Giorgia Meloni welcomed in Tashkent by Uzbek Foreign Minister Saidov

Although no further details were provided about what was discussed, Meloni’s stopover represents an additional and significant signal of strengthened cooperation between Italy and Uzbekistan. In fact, the meeting follows more than a year of intense diplomatic activity between the two countries.

In June 2023, Uzbek President Mirziyoyev paid an official visit to Rome, where he met with Meloni and established strategic partnership relations with Italy. On that occasion, the Uzbek presidential delegation also participated in a roundtable with the Lombardy Region in Milan, which was attended also by CIUZ. Later last year, in November, President Sergio Mattarella reciprocated the visit by traveling to Tashkent, where he signed several bilateral cooperation agreements. Additionally, he was guided on a tour of Turin Polytechnic University of Tashkent by CIUZ Councillor Marco Farci.

Finally, in May 2024, Uzbek Foreign Minister Saidov attended the Third Ministerial Conference between Italy and the Central Asian countries in Rome, also participating in the Uzbekistan-Italy Business Luncheon to promote Italo-Uzbek economic cooperation.

During the trip, the Uzbek Foreign Minister, along with Deputy Minister of Higher Education, Science, and Innovation Makhkamov, met with Italy’s Minister of University and Research, Anna Maria Bernini. Following this meeting, Bernini accepted Saidov’s invitation to visit Uzbekistan and organize a meeting between Italian and Uzbek university rectors, further strengthening bilateral cooperation in the field of higher education.