Concerning the issues of the bilateral cooperation between Uzbekistan and the United Kingdom, it was mentioned that stable and advancing development of Uzbekistan in all directions creates favorable conditions for further expansion of multiple interaction with the UK. There is a significant role of the British-Uzbek Friendship Society in the process, which, since its establishment in 2001, has contributed much to the advancement of cultural and economic ties between the two states.

Addressing the event, Dr. Hartley Booth, Chairman of the Friendship Society who is also a co-chairman of the Uzbek-British Council of Trade and Industry, congratulated the Uzbek people on the occasion of the Constitution Day, noting successes achieved by Uzbekistan during its independence. He believes that “Constitution of Uzbekistan, being the main legal act of the country, is a reliable guarantor of its evolutional development and fundamental human rights and liberties”. H. Booth informed those gathered of the Society’s intention to promote further popularization of the Uzbek culture and arts in the United Kingdom as well as to contribute to the extension of the bilateral economic cooperation.

In this context, the chairman also spoke of the outcome of the British Economic delegation’s visit to Uzbekistan, which participated in the 15th meeting of the Uzbek-British Council of Trade and Industry (26-28 November 2008). “The visit was fruitful: together with the successful meeting of the Council, there were a number of useful bilateral meetings with senior officials of Ministries of Foreign Economic Relations, Investments and Trade and other governmental bodies, who demonstrated their interest in strengthening trade and investment cooperation”, he said.

Detlef Zimmermann, Director General of UzBAT, an Uzbek-British joint venture, also addressed the event. He laid emphasis on the company’s adherence to long-term cooperation. “We are particularly pleased by the fact that the 16th anniversary of the Constitution coincides with the 15th anniversary of our company’s activity in Uzbekistan. We paid great importance to the expansion of UzBAT’s activity as one of the company’s key branches both at regional and international level.”

D. Zimmermann noted the effectiveness of socio-economic and democratic reforms being conducted in Uzbekistan. “Long-term investments in education and training of qualified personnel have been fruitful. Three dozens of managers from Uzbekistan working in the BAT’s headquarters and its foreign branches is an evidence of the high level of proficiency of graduates of Uzbek higher education institutions”.

Chairman of Cambridge Central Asia Forum Dr. Siddharth Saxena highly evaluated the level of the government’s support to develop science, education and preserving cultural-historical heritage and acknowledged the Cambridge University’s intention to expand cooperation with Uzbekistan.