Uzbek President, wife visit Taj Mahal

Agra (Uttar Pradesh) [India], Sept 30 (ANI): Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, and his wife, Ziroatkhon Hoshimova, visited the iconic Taj Mahal to kick-start his two-day maiden India visit on Sunday.
The Uzbek President's two-day tour includes a scheduled bilateral talk with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Hyderabad House, along with a number of other significant engagements.
On Sunday, Mirziyoyev will be accorded a ceremonial guard of honour at the Rashtrapati Bhawan. He will also visit Raj Ghat to pay homage to Mahatma Gandhi.
As part of his engagements in India, the Uzbek President is slated to meet President Ram Nath Kovind, Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj. He will also attend a presidential banquet during his two-day visit.
The Ministry of External Affairs, while announcing the Uzbek President's state visit to India, had said the visit is aimed at cementing bilateral ties between India and Uzbekistan.
"Exchange of frequent high-level visits on both sides has served to cement bilateral ties. Both India and Uzbekistan have also been closely working together as members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO). The visit Uzbekistan President will provide an opportunity to discuss bilateral, regional and multilateral issues of mutual interest and reinforce the strategic partnership which exists between the two countries," the statement read.
In June this year, Prime Minister Modi had met President Mirziyoyev on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in China's Qingdao. Two months later, Swaraj held bilateral discussions with the Uzbek President during her visit to the Central Asian country. (ANI)