Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi congratulated his Uzbek counterpart Shavkat Mirziyoyev on election victory, hoping for the expansion of relations between Tehran and Tashkent in accordance with an already-formulated road map.

In a message on Monday, the Iranian president congratulated Mirziyoyev on his re-election as the president of Uzbekistan.

Highlighting the determination of the two countries’ officials to promote relations, Raisi expressed hope that during the Uzbek president’s new term, the two countries would enhance ties according to the road map to cooperation and the previous agreements.

He also expressed hope that the bilateral relations would serve the mutual interests and promote regional and international peace and security.

Mirziyoyev was re-elected with 87.1% of the vote on Sunday, attended by more than 15 million voters. He has led Central Asia’s most populous nation since 2016.

The Uzbek president had called a snap election after changing the constitution through a referendum which reset his term count and extended the presidential term from five to seven years.

Mirziyoyev had previously served as prime minister under his predecessor Islam Karimov, and had styled himself as a reformer since coming to power, promising to create a “New Uzbekistan”.

 

SOURCE: Tasnim