On September 28, 2022, in the "Palace of Symposiums" in Tashkent there was  a mutual dialogue with, the Minister of Hajj and Umrah Affairs of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Tawfiq bin Fawzon ar-Rabia and the Chairman of the Committee on Religious Affairs under the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan Sodiqjon Toshboev and the Chairman of the Muslims Board of Uzbekistan, Mufti Nuriddin Domla Khaliqnazarov.

The two countries have long been connected by historical, cultural and religious ties. Relations between Uzbekistan and Saudi Arabia are built on the foundations of common and strong cooperation. Our ancestors aspired to Mecca and Medina. They are always fond of visiting holy places such as the House of God - the Kaaba, Arafat, Mina and Muzdalifah valleys, the Rawzai shrines and tombs of the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, the Baqi' place where the great companions were buried, the Qiblatain and Quba mosques, and Uhud mountain.

It should be noted that this year marks the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Republic of Uzbekistan and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Relations between Uzbekistan and Saudi Arabia have gained positive momentum in recent years, and the quality of mutual cooperation has reached a new level.

In the dialogue, the Chairman of the Committee on Religious Affairs Sadiqjon Toshboev noted that the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoev's state visit to Saudi Arabia on August 17-18 this year at the invitation of two employees of the Holy Mosque, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, serves to raise the cooperation relationship to a higher level.

Importantly, he noted that the long-term friendship between the two nations, the scope of relations based on the principle of brotherhood, has expanded even more.

Also, Hajj and Umra events are being implemented by the Public Council on organizing and holding Hajj and Umra events based on Cabinet of Ministers Decision No. 364. He noted that the pilgrims from Uzbekistan deserve the status of the most exemplary during the annual Hajj season.

The Minister of Hajj and Umrah Affairs, Tawfiq bin Fawzon al-Rabia, noted that the high-level talks between the leaders of the two countries demonstrated the commonality of views. The parties focused on further expansion of mutually beneficial relations between the two countries in trade-economic, investment, cultural-humanitarian, scientific-educational and tourism sectors.

At the meeting, the Chairman of the Board of Muslims of Uzbekistan, Mufti Nuriddin Domla Khaliqnazarov stated that the people performing Hajj and Umrah are the guests of Allah Almighty, and the person who helps them and eases their burden will achieve a great reward.

He also emphasized  that the number of Hajj pilgrims this year has exceeded 12,000, and the number of Umrah pilgrims has exceeded 40,000.

His Highness the Mufti come up with some suggestions regarding further improvement  of the quality of services for Hajj and Umrah pilgrims, preparation more comfortable conditions for them in order to pray in the valleys of Mina, Arafat and Muzdalifa, as well as cooperation in scientific and research works, to hold conferences with the participation of religious scholars, organizing pilgrimages of Saudi Arabia  citizens to ancient cities of Uzbekistan such as Samarkand, Bukhara, Termiz.

Yusuf Salih al-Utaybi, the ambassador of Saudi Arabia in Uzbekistan, said that today's historic meeting will enrich the cooperation with such practical results, and the introduction of visa-free regime for citizens of Saudi Arabia will be one of the important steps in the development of pilgrimage tourism.

During the talks, it was recognized that the state program "Nigoh-2030" is being successfully implemented in Saudi Arabia, that many approaches of the two countries are similar, and that they always support each other in the international arena.

At the meeting, a gratitude was expressed to His Highness the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev, His Highness the King of Saudi Arabia Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and His Highness the Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman, the employee of the Two Holy Mosques, who prepared the ground for such cooperation.

The issue of drafting a Memorandum between the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah Affairs of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Committee on Religious Affairs under the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan was discussed in the dialogue.

During the visit of the delegation of Saudi Arabia, it is planned to hold talks with the heads of a number of interested ministries and departments, to get acquainted with the activities of educational institutions, scientific research centers, and to visit holy places in our country.

Muslims  Board of Uzbekistan