/IA "Dunyo"/. On November 1-2, French President Emmanuel Macron will pay an official visit to Uzbekistan, reports a "Dunyo" information agency correspondent.
Uzbekistan and France have been developing fruitful and mutually beneficial cooperation since the establishment of diplomatic relations in March 1992.
The official visit of the President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev to France, which took place on October 8-9, 2018, marked the beginning of a new stage of interstate relations, characterized by active dynamics.
On November 21-22, 2022, the head of our state made a second visit to France, which had a busy program of meetings and negotiations at the highest level. During this visit, meetings were also held with the Chairman of the French National Assembly, Yael Bron-Pivet, and representatives of leading companies and financial institutions in France.
The proximity of the Development Strategy implemented in Uzbekistan with the reform program of the French leader, the similarity and closeness of the approaches of the two states to solving major international and regional problems has a serious influence on the entry of Uzbek-French relations to a new level. This contributes to the development of new forms of regional and international cooperation, joint counteraction to new challenges and threats of our time. The regional policy of Uzbekistan, aimed at achieving constructive and good neighborly relations with the countries of Central Asia, has created a completely different regional environment, which contributes to the achievement of the goals of French foreign policy in the Central Asian direction.
High-level contacts also gained new dynamics.
Uzbekistan-France friendship groups are actively functioning in the Senate and Legislative Chamber of the Oliy Majlis. Parliamentarians of the two countries regularly discuss the prospects for deepening inter-parliamentary dialogue within the framework of an established exchange of mutual visits. Uzbekistan and France are also partners within multilateral structures, interacting at the platforms of the UN, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the European Union and others.
France is an important partner of Uzbekistan in the economic, investment and financial-technical spheres. Trade, economic, investment, financial and technical cooperation between our countries is intensifying.
Today, 47 enterprises with the participation of French capital operate in Uzbekistan, including 17 based on 100% French investments. Successful examples of partnerships in the fields of geological exploration, energy, production of building materials, automotive industry and tourism include the activities in our country of such leading French companies as Veolia, Suez, EDF, Total Eren, Voltalia, Orano, Airbus and others. They are present in the key sectors of utilities, energy and transport.
The Intergovernmental Commission on Trade and Economic Cooperation serves as an important platform for considering all aspects of Uzbek-French cooperation in this area. Her work helps identify new directions for greater diversification and deepening of trade and economic relations between the two countries.
A clear confirmation of the growing interest of French business in expanding cooperation was the business forum held in April this year in Tashkent, organized jointly with the French Entrepreneurs' Movement "MEDEF International", in which representatives of more than 35 French companies took part.
Cooperation with the French Development Agency, which has had its representative office in Tashkent since 2018, is developing fruitfully. Within the framework of the Cooperation Program with the FAR for 2023-2025, signed in November last year, the implementation of projects worth over one billion euros is envisaged.
According to the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement between Uzbekistan and the European Union, most favored nation treatment has been established in trade with France.
Uzbek-French relations in the cultural and humanitarian sphere are multifaceted and promising. They are distinguished by their breadth of scope, as well as high dynamics and mutual interest in further expansion.
A striking event in the history of the development of cultural ties between our countries was the opening last November by Presidents Shavkat Mirziyoyev and Emmanuel Macron of the exhibition "Treasures of the Oases of Uzbekistan". At the Crossroads of the Caravan Routes" at the Louvre Museum in Paris. This exhibition was prepared for several years and included objects from museums in Uzbekistan and other countries. Several joint Uzbek-French expeditions took place, during which a number of archaeological discoveries were made. In addition, specialists from the Louvre and Uzbekistan carried out large-scale restoration work in several stages. This exhibition, as well as the exhibition "Road to Samarkand" opened on the same day. Miracles of Silk and Gold" at the Institute of the Arab World in Paris, over more than three months of work, acquainted a huge number of residents and guests of France with the rich and unique historical and cultural heritage of our country.
The great interest in the history and heritage of the Uzbek people is evidenced by the Association for the Study of Art and History of the Timurid Era, established in 1988, and the Avicenna-France Association, which operate in France.
Evidence of the interaction between the cultures and traditions of France and Uzbekistan, as well as the fruitful development of friendly relations, is the establishment of twinning relations between the cities of Rueil-Malmaison - Bukhara and Lyon - Samarkand. As a sign of recognition by the French side of the rich spiritual and cultural-historical heritage of the Uzbek people, the "Uzbek Garden" was opened in the cities of France, and monuments to the encyclopedist Abu Ali ibn Sina and Mirzo Ulugbek were erected.
In turn, Uzbekistan pays great attention to the study of the French language, literature and culture. Currently, about three thousand teachers working in the field of secondary specialized and higher education teach French to approximately 200 thousand pupils and students. French is taught in 700 schools in Uzbekistan and 6 specialized schools. Thirteen universities have departments of French or Romance languages, where students study French as their primary language, with many students studying it as a second foreign language. In 2019, specialized school No. 43 of the city of Samarkand was named after French citizen Lucien Keren, the founder of the Association for the Study of History and Art of the Timurid Era.
An important role in the development of the French language and culture in Uzbekistan, as well as in strengthening Uzbek-French cooperation, is assigned to the French Alliance and the French School, which are successfully operating in our country.
The Association of French Language Teachers of Uzbekistan has been created under the International Association of French Language Teachers.
Interuniversity and academic cooperation is strengthening. In 2018-2023, over 50 agreements and memorandums of understanding were signed in the field of education in such areas as tourism, archeology, design and fashion, French philology, aviation, inclusive education, business management, energy, political science, aviation and others. In particular, in recent years, inter-university connections have been established with such educational institutions in France as the universities of Paris-Sud, Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne, Paris II Panthéon-Assas, Paris IV Sorbonne, University of Grenoble, University of Nice Sophia-Antipolis, University of Brittany-Sud, National Institute of Oriental Languages and Civilizations, University of Toulouse, Institute of Political Studies of Toulouse, National Higher School of Architecture of Versailles and others. It should also be noted that there are productive connections between the Academy of Public Administration under the President of Uzbekistan and the National School of Administration of France.
In 2019, a joint faculty of the Paris International Fashion Academy was created at the Tashkent Institute of Textile and Light Industry; branch of the Business School for Management of Tourism and Hotel Business "Vatel" at Bukhara State University. At the Tashkent State Transport University, together with the French National School of Civil Aviation, a School for training civil aviation pilots has been opened since the 2021/2022 academic year.
In turn, courses for teaching the Uzbek language have been opened at the National Institute of Oriental Languages and Civilizations at the Sorbonne University.
In October 2021 in Tashkent and November 2022 in Paris, the first and second Uzbek-French educational forums were held with the participation of university rectors of the two countries.
The Higher Institute of Education and Research of France, in collaboration with the Ministries of Preschool and School Education of Uzbekistan, provides assistance in the development of inclusive education in our republic.
Currently, work is underway to create an Uzbek-French multidisciplinary university in Tashkent with the participation of a consortium of French universities.
Relations in the field of archeology and preservation of cultural heritage are actively developing. French partners provide assistance in the implementation of projects for the restoration of cultural heritage sites in Uzbekistan. One of them is the restoration project of the "Ambassadors" fresco in the Afrosiab Museum.
In the field of cinematography, an important event was the first opening of the Uzbekistan pavilion in 2018 at the 71st Cannes International Film Festival in France. In 2019, the Uzbek pavilion was opened in Cannes as part of the 72nd International Film Festival at the Marché du Film.
French tourists traditionally take first place in the number of visits to our country. This is largely facilitated by widespread propaganda and promotion of the tourism potential of Uzbekistan in France. Thus, a film about Uzbekistan on the popular TV channel "France 5" as part of the "Beautiful Walk" program was watched by an audience of 1.4 million people, which was the best figure in the entire history of the television program. In addition, the appointment of the famous French actor Gerard Depardieu as the ambassador of tourism of Uzbekistan in France also attracted a lot of attention to our country as a very interesting and promising tourist destination.
Thus, without a doubt, we can say that multifaceted Uzbek-French relations, characterized by dynamism and strategic orientation, have enormous prospects.
In this context, the upcoming visit of French President Emmanuel Macron to Uzbekistan will be a logical continuation of the Uzbek-French relations that have intensified in recent years and will lay the foundation for achieving new breakthrough results in mutually beneficial and multifaceted cooperation between our countries.
Photo from the archives of IA "Dunyo"
