On Thursday, 23 January, HE Carmelo Inguanez, Malta’s Resident Ambassador in the Russian Federation, presented his Letters of Credentials to HE Bakhtiyor Saidov, Minister of Foreign Affairs as Malta’s first Ambassador to Uzbekistan, during a ceremony held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the country’s capital Tashkent. Afterwards, the two held a meeting during which they discussed various subjects, both bilateral and regional in nature.  Minister Saidov highly praised Malta’s work and the role of the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs ‘HE Ian Borg in his capacity as Chair-in-Office of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). He also praised Malta’s work during its tenure as a Non-Permanent Member of the United Nations Security Council.  The two sides also discussed how to continue to expand and strengthen their bilateral political, economic, and cultural relations.

Following the conclusion of the meeting, Minister Saidov and Ambassador Inguanez signed an ‘Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Uzbekistan and the Government of the Republic of Malta on Mutual Exemption of Visa Requirements for Holders of Diplomatic Passports’.

During his visit to Tashkent, Ambassador Inguanez also held meetings with the Minister of Higher Education, Science, and Innovation HE Mr. K. Sharipov, the First Deputy Chairman of the Tourism Committee HE s Mr. J Abdusalomov. Ambassador Inguanez also had meetings with high-ranking officials from various departments within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as well as with the Head of the EU Delegation in Tashkent, Ambassador Toivo Klaar.

Throughout his trip to Uzbekistan, Ambassador Inguanez was accompanied by Mr. Dennis Grech, Deputy Head of Mission, and Consul at the Embassy of Malta in Moscow.