Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury has held a meeting with the Deputy Prime Minister of Uzbekistan Jamshid Khodjaev in Samarkand.

According to a message received on Wednesday, Khosru is visiting Samarkand to lead a Bangladesh delegation in the annual meeting of the Board of Governors of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) on May 3-6, 2026.

The finance minister was accompanied by the Ambassador of Bangladesh Mohammad Monirul Islam in the meeting with Uzbek DPM on Tuesday.

The finance minister conveyed sincere thanks and appreciation to Uzbek government, especially the President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev for congratulating the Prime Minister of Bangladesh Tarique Rahman on his assumption to the post of Prime Minister following the formation of the new government.

Highlighting the historical, cultural and religious linkages shared by the people of Bangladesh and Uzbekistan, he underlined the importance of working more closely in the prospective areas, especially in the spheres of trade, connectivity, employment, culture, tourism and people to people contact.

The finance minister urged the Uzbek DPM to positively consider establishing a direct air connectivity between the two countries, including resuming Uzbek airways in Dhaka-Tashkent sector.

He laid emphasis on opening an Uzbek diplomatic Mission in Bangladesh for further cementing and deepening bilateral collaboration.

He also requested for a greater market access of Bangladeshi export items like RMG, pharmaceuticals and jute products to Uzbekistan and sought support to facilitate visas for Bangladeshi business and tourism communities.

Underlining the necessity of exchange of high level political visits, he extended an invitation to the President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev to pay a visit to Bangladesh at a mutually convenient time.

Uzbek DPM expressed his country’s readiness to engage with Bangladesh more effectively to make the economic partnership dynamic and result oriented.

He stressed the need for early conclusion of the bilateral instruments on trade, agriculture and tourism those have remained pending.

Appreciating Bangladesh’s advancement in textile and pharmaceutical sectors, he assured the Bangladesh Minister of sending a business delegation in Bangladesh to explore business and investment opportunities at the earliest.