SAMARKAND - Aziz Abdukhakimov, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Tourism and Cultural Heritage of Uzbekistan, lauded the strong relations between his country and the UAE in all areas, including tourism and aviation.

In an interview with the Emirates News Agency (WAM), on the sidelines of the International Ziyarah Tourism Week in Samarkand, Abdukhakimov said that his country wishes to establish further partnerships and agreements with the UAE, to promote Islamic tourism and the attractions available in Uzbek cities.

The tourism roadmap and promotional reforms launched by the Uzbek Ministry of Tourism will help attract further investments in this strategic sector, most notably from Islamic countries interested in tourism in Uzbekistan, he added, noting that the ministry has developed a number of innovative concepts with several tourism companies from the UAE, India and Malaysia.

The International Ziyarah Tourism Week is a key platform for promoting the country’s Islamic and heritage tourism sector, which has become one of the fastest-growing markets in the world, he further added, stressing that Uzbekistan was recently declared a leading tourism destination, due to its easy entry requirements visa. It offers visa-free entry for a period of 30 days to visitors from 65 countries and facilitates e-visa procedures for citizens of 77 countries.