TASHKENT -- US Department of State South and Central Asian Affairs Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Alice Wells and Uzbek Foreign Minister Abdulaziz Kamilov held the US-Uzbek Annual Bilateral Consultations in Tashkent Tuesday (February 26), according to a statement from the US Embassy in Uzbekistan.
Both sides noted that Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev's visit to the United States last May opened a new era of US-Uzbek relations.
"Uzbekistan has put itself back on the map, by adopting significant economic and governance reforms and by opening itself up to new opportunities for trade and investment, both with its immediate neighbors and the wider world," Wells said in her opening statement in Tashkent.
"All of Central Asia benefits by Uzbekistan's embrace of its rightful role on the world stage. The United States supports and encourages Uzbekistan's reemergence," she said.
US assistance to Uzbekistan over the past year grew to approximately $28.1 million (236 billion UZS) last year, from $10.1 million (85 billion UZS) in 2016, Wells noted.
The US delegation reiterated strong support for Uzbekistan's independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity and encouraged further ties in a wide range of political, economic, education, security, cultural and other fields, the statement said.
Wells and Kamilov highlighted the potential for strengthening concrete co-operation, as well as peace and stability in Central Asia.
At the conclusion of the consultation, the two sides signed two agreements expanding co-operation in energy and education and agreed to hold the next round of Annual Bilateral Consultations in 2020 in Washington.
[Americans] have stolen 30 billion dollars from Venezuela, now they can give some to Uzbekistan in order to advance their efforts.
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