The parties announced a strategic partnership in the field of tourism development in Uzbekistan and entered into a Memorandum of Understanding, which involves the accession of the Ministry of Ecology, Environmental Protection and Climate Change of the Republic of Uzbekistan to the Mastercard Tourism Innovation Hub.

The Memorandum was signed by the Minister of Ecology, Environmental Protection, and Climate Change of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Aziz Abdukhakimov, and the Executive Vice President, Strategic Growth and Global Lead, Government Engagement at Mastercard, Nicola Villa.

"The Ministry warmly welcomes cooperation with our partners, Mastercard. This opens up broad prospects for improving payment infrastructure and the experience of domestic and foreign visitors, analyzing tourist expenditures and flows, promoting Uzbekistan as a tourist destination among Mastercard cardholders in over 200 countries worldwide," noted Aziz Abdukhakimov.

Nicola Villa also spoke about the prospects of long-term cooperation with Uzbekistan.

"We are pleased to announce the beginning of a long-term cooperation with Uzbekistan in the development of the tourism industry. Uzbekistan has an incredibly rich heritage, amazing culture, and impressive landmarks. This beautiful country has tremendous potential, and we are proud to have the opportunity to contribute to its development by leveraging our technological platform, advanced payment solutions, experience in implementing numerous global cases, data analytics expertise, and more," shared the Mastercard Vice President.

It is worth noting that the Mastercard Tourism Innovation Hub will collaborate with the Ministry and its affiliated organizations in Uzbekistan in developing joint digital solutions for the government, domestic and foreign tourists, and tourism-related enterprises. The areas of cooperation also include assisting in the development of a safe, reliable, and convenient payment infrastructure for travelers and small businesses, providing analytical data for tracking trends and developing strategies to promote Uzbekistan as a tourist destination, conducting joint research, and exchanging advanced global experiences.

For reference, Mastercard is a leading global payment and technology company that is currently involved in over 1,600 government projects in more than 60 countries aimed at stimulating economic growth and development through the digitalization of payments.