STOCKHOLM, May 10. /Dunyo IA/. A delegation from Uzbekistan, including diplomats and researchers, visited Sweden and Denmark to discuss prospects for developing cooperation between Central Asia and the Nordic countries, reports Dunyo IA correspondent.

During a visit to Lund University, the delegation took part in a scientific and practical seminar dedicated to the launch of a new research and applied project NORCA – the “Central Asia–Nordic Research Network.”

The event was initiated by Lund University, the foreign ministries of Sweden and Denmark, and the Embassy of Uzbekistan in Stockholm.

The Uzbek delegation included officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as well as researchers from leading Uzbek higher education institutions, including the University of World Economy and Diplomacy, Nordic International University in Tashkent, Tashkent University of Humanities, and other academic organizations.

The seminar focused on opportunities to expand both horizontal cooperation – including people-to-people contacts and business ties – and vertical cooperation in the form of political and institutional dialogue between the two regions of Eurasia under current global conditions.

In his speech, Zakir Saidov, Head of the Department for Cooperation with Central Asian Countries at the MFA of Uzbekistan, briefed Nordic experts and diplomats on the new dynamics of regional cooperation in Central Asia. He highlighted that an important milestone in this process was the initiative of the President of Uzbekistan to establish the format of Consultative Meetings of the Heads of State of Central Asia.

In Copenhagen, the delegation visited the Secretariat of the Nordic Council, where they became familiar with the mechanisms of regional cooperation among the five Nordic countries – Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, and Iceland.

The sides also discussed prospects for establishing contacts and exchanging experience in regional cooperation and integration processes.

The visit concluded with talks at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark, which currently holds the presidency of the Nordic Council.