Abdulaziz Akkulov, chairman of Uzbekistan’s Tourism Committee, met İlkay Çorgundağ, regional director of engineering and consulting firm Arup, on 1 October. The committee said the discussion covered sustainable tourism, integrated development of places with strong tourism potential and modern tourism infrastructure. The announcement does not say that the parties signed an investment or services contract: it says Arup’s potential participation was discussed and that both sides were willing to continue contacts. Company representatives also expressed interest in opening an office in Tashkent.

The meeting comes as Uzbekistan seeks to move tourism development from separate facilities toward coordinated regional planning. A presidential resolution adopted in April established a Project Office for Tourism Infrastructure Development under the Tourism Committee. The committee’s 1 October announcement says the initiative envisages comprehensive development of 30 new tourism areas based on master plans by 2030. A May implementation statement had described master plans for 34 major tourism sites and the creation or further development of 31 tourism facilities. These are different workstreams; neither statement says construction has been completed at every site.

The committee describes the operating sequence as linking an attractive location to a project, infrastructure, an entrepreneur, promotion and ultimately a visitor. Its May statement said a total of UZS 950 billion was planned for regional tourism infrastructure in 2026, directed toward highway repairs, engineering and utility networks, sanitary facilities, coastal improvements and related infrastructure. Those figures are previously announced sector plans, not a new financing commitment or contract awarded to Arup on 1 October.

Founded in the United Kingdom in 1946, Arup works on infrastructure, transport, urban development and tourism projects, according to the committee. The agency lists the firm’s expertise in master planning, urban infrastructure, hotel construction and sustainability, and says it operates more than 100 offices in 37 countries. Uzbekistan invited the company to the 31st Tashkent International Tourism Fair, scheduled for 25–27 November, and to the investment forum planned within the fair. Arup’s representatives said they were ready to attend.

The sides said they would continue cooperation in agreed areas and supported a proposal to sign a memorandum of understanding with the Tourism Infrastructure Development Project Office. The next concrete steps would include defining any project scope, preparing planning documents and, if agreed, signing a cooperation document. The committee did not identify which of the 30 areas might involve Arup, say whether the firm will open a Tashkent office, or disclose a project budget or schedule. The meeting is therefore an exploration of possible technical participation in the government’s longer-term tourism programme, rather than evidence that new investment has already been secured or that master plans are complete.