Shortly after arrival, the president was accorded welcome by his Uzbek counterpart Shavkat Mirziyoyev.
Raisi met and held talks with President Mirziyoyev upon his arrival in Uzbekistan.
Congratulating the anniversary of Uzbekistan's independence, President Raisi said that Iran-Uzbekistan relations have undoubtedly made good progress in these years, especially during Mirziyoyev's presidency.
He underlined that Tehran's relations with Tashkent are not only neighborly and regional ties, but it is also civilizational, deep and cultural.
President Raisi noted that despite the sanctions, the Islamic Republic of Iran has made great progress over the past years, adding that the willful nation turns threats into opportunities. "Today, we have progress in various fields and many capacities have been created in the Islamic Republic of Iran."
Uzbekistan's progress is Iran's progress and there are no obstacles to the development of relations between the two countries, he went on to say.
He further noted that there is a readiness to increase mutual ties in different fields, including trade, transit, and transportation exchanges which can increase the level of cooperation between Tehran and Tashkent.
President Raisi expressed Iran’s readiness to cooperate with Uzbekistan in the field of energy.
Referring to the talks between oil ministers of Iran and Uzbekistan and the inking of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the two states, he expressed hope that good steps would be taken to develop energy relations and signing of the documents is a good manifestation of the will of the two states to develop relations in different fields.
Mirziyoyev, for his part, described President Raisi's visit to his country as a historic trip, adding that Iran and Uzbekistan have entered the path of development and these trips will be strong foundations for the development of Iran-Uzbekistan ties.
Pointing to the great history of Iran, he noted that economic exchanges between the two countries have increased due to the common historical ties.
President Raisi’s visit to Samarkand is aimed at attending the 22nd Summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).
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