President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev met Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in Tashkent on January 19 as she made a brief stop in the Uzbek capital.
The talks focused on practical steps to further strengthen the Uzbek-Italian strategic partnership and broaden cooperation across multiple areas.
Both sides welcomed steady progress in implementing agreements reached at the highest level during their meeting in Samarkand in May 2025. Officials noted that contacts remain active at various levels, with trade volumes and the number of joint ventures continuing to grow.
Regional cooperation is also expanding, including with Italy’s Lombardy region. Quotas have been allocated for the organised labour migration of Uzbek citizens to Italy.
Major industrial cooperation projects are under way in partnership with Italian companies including Finopera, ANCI, Pietro Fiorentini and Danieli. Late last year, a branch of the University of Tuscia opened in Samarkand, marking another milestone in educational cooperation.
Looking ahead, the two sides plan to hold meetings of the foreign ministries’ strategic dialogue, a session of the intergovernmental commission and the second Rectors’ Forum later this year.
Priority attention was given to advancing joint projects in textiles, geology, energy, chemicals, construction materials, the financial market and other key sectors.
Cultural cooperation also featured prominently. The leaders agreed to hold cross-cultural days of Uzbek and Italian cinema, supported Uzbekistan’s participation in the next Venice Biennale and backed plans for exhibitions of applied arts and museum pieces in Milan this year.
The meeting also included an exchange of views on international and regional issues.
At the conclusion of the talks, President Mirziyoyev invited Prime Minister Meloni to pay a separate official visit to Uzbekistan.
