A delegation of the Republic of Uzbekistan in Brussels headed by Deputy Prime Minister Aziz Abdukhakimov met with Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy of the Kingdom of Belgium Chris Peters on 12 December 2018.
During the talks, Chris Peters expressed the support of the Belgian side to large-scale reforms being implemented in Uzbekistan and noted that the Belgian side’s willingness to cooperate will not be limited to the health sector, as such areas as agriculture, education, cultural interaction, tourism and others also represent great interest for his country.
According to the Deputy Prime Minister, Belgium also has other advanced technologies, which can also be used in Uzbekistan. He noted that the relevant ministries of the country, both at the federal and regional levels, will conduct an appropriate analysis of possible promising areas that can be developed together with Uzbek partners at the state and private levels.
A member of the Belgian government expressed interest in organizing his visit to Uzbekistan for meetings and talks on the prospects for further cooperation in investment, technology, trade, tourism and other areas.
On 12 December 2018, a meeting was also held with the managing director of IBA, Olivier Legrand, who said that the Belgian side was considering with great interest the possibility of building the first in Central Asia Proton Therapy Center for Oncological Diseases in Uzbekistan.
The company is the world’s leading developer and manufacturer of proton therapy systems and rightfully occupies a leading position in this area, equipping more than 55% of all centers of such treatment in the world with its equipment.
On the same day, the Uzbek delegation met with the Managing Director of the multi-cultural center of Belgium “Art Center BOZAR” Paul Dujardin.
In the conversation that took place, he reported on the growing interest of the Belgian community in the history and culture of the countries of Central Asia and, in particular, of Uzbekistan. A proposal was made to develop and implement a “Road Map” between Uzbekistan and the multi-cultural center for 2019–2021 with the identification of a number of priority areas for the development of cooperation.
At the meeting they discussed the organization of a joint celebration of “Navruz” in Brussels and expressed interest in the Uzbekistan’s cultural project “The Cultural Heritage of Uzbekistan in World Collections”, whose task is to study objects of national art that are stored in museums of other states.
In this regard, Paul Dujardin expressed his willingness to assist in the search for works of material and artistic culture, found on the territory of Uzbekistan and possibly stored in the museums of Belgium.
