On March 1, President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev received the United States delegation led by the Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

Current issues on the agenda of bilateral relations in the political, trade, economic, investment, educational, cultural and humanitarian spheres and key aspects of regional cooperation were considered.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken conveyed to the President of Uzbekistan the greetings and best wishes of United States President Joseph Biden.

The strong commitment of the United States to support the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Uzbekistan was emphasized. A high assessment was given and full support was expressed for the irreversible democratic transformations and socio-economic reforms being carried out in the country.

Great progress was noted in ensuring human rights and gender equality, combating forced labor, reforms in freedom of speech and support for the media, developing civil society institutions, and many other areas.

At the meeting, the high-level multifaceted relations between Uzbekistan and the United States were stated with great satisfaction.

The importance of further developing full-scale cooperation was confirmed, including within the framework of promoting an effective Strategic Partnership Dialogue and continuing productive exchanges at different levels.

The main attention was paid to building up trade, economic, investment and innovation interaction, expanding the presence of leading American companies in Uzbekistan market, and implementing cooperation projects, primarily in high-tech industries.

The existing wide opportunities for enhancing cultural and humanitarian ties were noted, including programs in studying the English language by the young generation and training qualified teachers in Uzbekistan.

Views were exchanged on the most important issues of regional cooperation. The practical results of the Ministerial Meeting held the day before in the “US and Central Asian countries” (“C5+1”) format were positively assessed.

Promoting the sustainable development of the region’s countries, improving the business environment and investment climate, developing green energy, and implementing joint educational programs were highlighted.

Particular attention is paid to the upcoming meeting of the Council of the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA), which will be held this month in the city of Samarkand.

Issues of broad international cooperation in matters of a peaceful settlement in Afghanistan were also considered.

A common opinion was expressed on the inadmissibility of the escalation of the situation and the growth of the humanitarian crisis in this country, the need to actively use the UN platform to develop an algorithm for solving existing problems, as well as the importance of supporting regional infrastructure projects to promote peace and restore the Afghan economy.

Source: UzA