Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos pledged to deepen relations between Cyprus and Uzbekistan, as he met his Uzbek counterpart Bakhtiyor Saidov in the country’s capital, Tashkent, marking the third leg of his tour of central Asia.

He thanked Saidov for the “warm welcome” he was given to Uzbekistan and the “productive discussion” which was held, before adding that both he and Saidov discussed ways to “further expand” relations and “enhance economic cooperation” between the two countries.

Additionally, he said that they both endeavoured to “strengthen engagement both bilaterally and in multilateral settings”.

He also made reference to the fact that Cyprus is the current holder of the Council of the European Union’s rotating presidency, and said that within that framework, “we remain committed to unlocking new areas of mutually beneficial partnerships”.

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Saidov, meanwhile, said that he and Kombos had “discussed issues related to the further development of … relations”.

“Particular attention was given to expanding cooperation in trade and investment, transport, logistics, strengthening ties between business communities, and exploring opportunities for implementing joint initiatives,” he said.

He added that he and Kombos had “also reviewed regional and international issues of mutual interest”.

Prior to his arrival in Uzbekistan, Kombos had previously visited both Kazakhstan and Tajikistan, arriving in the former alongside President Nikos Christodoulides earlier in the week and visiting the latter on Friday. The final leg of his tour of central Asia is set to see him visit Kyrgyzstan.

All four of those states, alongside Turkmenistan, signed a joint declaration alongside the European Union last year precluding any recognition of the north as an independent country, with that declaration coming at a time when the Turkish Cypriot side, led by Ersin Tatar, advocated for a two-state solution to the Cyprus problem.

The joint declaration stated that all five countries “reaffirmed our strong commitment” to United Nations security council resolutions 541 and 550.

Resolution 541 said the security council “deplores the declaration of the Turkish Cypriot authorities of the purported secession of part of the Republic of Cyprus” while calling on UN member states not to recognise the north.

 Resolution 550 said it “reiterates the call upon all states not to recognise the purported state of the ‘Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus’, set up by secessionist acts, and calls upon them not to facilitate or in any way assist the aforesaid secessionist entity”.

That joint declaration provoked anger among Turkey’s opposition, with Ozgur Ozel, the then leader of the CHP who was last month removed from that role by a court ruling, saying that the joint declaration’s signing was evidence of a “collapse” of the country’s foreign policy.

He also claimed that the status of Cyprus was a key part of a deal brokered by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and United States President Donald Trump to allow the arrest of Istanbul mayor Ekrem Imamoglu in March last year.

Meanwhile, Turkish Parliament speaker Numan Kurtulmus had said shortly after the signing of the joint declaration that the four Turkic states which signed the joint declaration – Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan – were expected to “make up for it”.