Upon arrival in Tashkent, Lukashenko met with Mirziyoyev, choosing unusual format for conversation
Upon his arrival in Tashkent, the President of Belarus, Aleksandr Lukashenko, has met with his Uzbek counterpart Shavkat Mirziyoyev, with the heads of state’ informal meeting taking place at the Humo Arena ice palace, BelTA reports
The presidents decided to attend the Kazakhstan Open Hockey Championship match between Tashkent’s Humo club and Astana’s Nomad team.
Both leaders enjoy ice hockey. Aleksandr Lukashenko supports the development of this sport in the country and often takes to the ice as part of his squad during the National Amateur Ice Hockey Tournament. Meanwhile, Shavkat Mirziyoyev made a direct contribution to the revival of hockey in Tashkent. Thanks to his support, the Humo Arena – the largest ice complex in Central Asia and the second largest in the CIS after Minsk-Arena – was built in the capital. The multifunctional complex was named in honour of the mythical bird Humo – a symbol of happiness, peace and kindness in Uzbekistan.
In 2019, during an official visit to Belarus, Shavkat Mirziyoyev presented Aleksandr Lukashenko with a thematic souvenir: an unusual statuette of a hockey player.
This time, the Belarusian leader was presented with a personalised jersey of the Humo team (number 1) and club merchandise. Shavkat Mirziyoyev received the same gift, but his jersey featured number 24 (perhaps a reference to the President’s birthday: the Uzbek leader was born on July 24th, 1957).
The heads of state will hold official talks in Tashkent on February 8th, focusing on the issues of deepening interstate relations, as well as intensifying trade-economic, cultural and humanitarian interaction.
“The two sides will pay special attention to the development of co-operation across various industries, alongside collaboration in agriculture, science, education and tourism,” the Belarusian leader’s press service reported.
