Emmanuel Macron welcomes Shavkat Mirziyoyev for state visit to boost Franco-Uzbek relations

President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev arrived in Paris on a state visit to France for his third trip to the French capital, after October 2018 and November 2022.

The official welcoming ceremony for the president was held at the Invalides monument in Paris on Wednesday, where he was greeted by Emmanuel Macron, who will host him until Thursday.

The two leaders and their delegations later met at the Elysee Palace to discuss Uzbek-French relations, with an emphasis on trade and economy. Discussions also touched on encouraging the cooperation with French companies and businesses.

As a first outcome, Mirziyoyev and Macron signed a joint declaration on strategic partnership, the Uzbek president’s press service's statement said on social media platform X.

"In front of leaders documents were exchanged, including agreements on specialist and student mobility, mutual visa exemption for diplomatic passport holders, and a cooperation program for implementation of projects worth 6.5 billion euros," the statement read.

Further agreements on "education, finance, technology, healthcare, culture and other spheres" were also concluded, according to the statement.

While retaining traditionally close ties with Moscow, Tashkent has turned to reform and closer relations with the West under President Mirziyoyev in recent years.