SEPANG: Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev departed for Tashkent today after concluding a two-day official visit to Malaysia, aimed at strengthening bilateral relations.
A red-carpet farewell ceremony was held at the Bunga Raya Complex, Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA), featuring a guard of honour by the First Battalion of the Royal Ranger Regiment.
Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir was present to bid farewell to Mirziyoyev and his delegation. Their Uzbekistan Airways flight departed from KLIA at 8.50 pm.
Earlier, Malaysia and Uzbekistan reaffirmed their commitment to combating corruption while enhancing cooperation in education, tourism, and other key sectors.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev have agreed to establish exchange programmes between higher education institutions and research institutes to cultivate people-to-people ties and mutual understanding between the two nations.
In a joint statement today, both leaders also pledged to leverage Malaysia’s Visit Malaysia 2026 campaign and explore opportunities in Islamic and halal tourism.
This includes promoting the Umrah+ programme, to promote Malaysia and Uzbekistan as pre- and post-pilgrimage destinations for visitors from both countries.
To improve connectivity, they agreed to optimise the direct Kuala Lumpur-Tashkent flight operated by Uzbekistan Airways and Batik Air Malaysia.
Anwar and Mirziyoyev also witnessed the exchange of seven bilateral documents covering cooperation in customs, academic-diplomatic collaboration, health, forensic sciences, culture, higher education, and the halal industry.
In 2024, Malaysia’s total trade with Uzbekistan stood at RM369.8 million (USD80.9 million), reflecting a 13.2 percent decline from RM426.1 million (USD94 million) in 2023. The trade balance is in Malaysia’s favour at RM360.3 million (USD78.9 million).
Uzbekistan remains Malaysia’s second-largest trading partner in Central Asia.
