BERLIN -- Uzbekistan wants to bring relations with Germany to "a tangibly new and higher level", Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev said Monday (January 21) after talks in Berlin with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and other German leaders, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) reported.
Mirziyoyev, who concluded his three-day visit to Germany Tuesday (January 22), expressed hope that closer ties would boost technological co-operation between the two countries and increase German investment in Uzbekistan.
Merkel confirmed that her country wants to be "Uzbekistan's reliable partner".
"We see a lot of opportunities to expand ties between our countries," Merkel said at a joint news conference with Mirziyoyev after their talks.
"Uzbekistan is open for a constructive dialogue in the area of providing human rights and freedoms and co-operation to make the public-management systems transparent and fully eradicate corruption in the country," Mirziyoyev said.
The two leaders discussed political and security co-operation and signed nine intergovernmental and interagency documents related to the economy, trade, finances, education, science, and innovations, according to Uzbekistan's presidential press service.
Mirziyoyev and Merkel also expressed interest in further co-operation within the United Nations, the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and other international bodies.
