German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, who is also the chairman in office of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), has arrived in Uzbekistan at the start of a tour of Central Asia.
The Uzbek Foreign Ministry said that Steinmeier held talks with his Uzbek counterpart, Abdulaziz Kamilov, in Tashkent on March 30.
The ministers discussed Uzbek-German bilateral ties, regional and international issues, and the OSCE's involvement in social and political developments in the region.
During the three-day regional tour, Steinmeier will also visit neighboring Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.
Ahead of the tour, Steinmeier described Central Asia as a "region of strategic importance" with "considerable risks to [global] stability."
On March 29, the German Foreign Ministry said that regional cooperation, economic ties, and the threat of terrorism will be high on the agenda during Steinmeier's meetings in the region.