President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Islam Karimov met with United States Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg, at Oqsaroy July 17.

Welcoming the guest, the head of our state expressed satisfaction with the current state and positive dynamics of bilateral relations developing in the spirit of partnership and mutual understanding.

Today, political, trade and economic, cultural, educational and many other areas are defined as priority tracks in Uzbek-American relations. A good illustration to this has been the effect of a round table held recently in Washington, DC, that was attended by representatives of leading US business circles willing to explore investment opportunities in our republic, long-term projects and the Free Industrial and Economic Zone in Navoi being successfully built in our country.

The two nations effectively cooperate to bolster regional security and stability in Central Asia that includes working out joint measures to counter transnational threats and challenges. In this context, as the guest suggested, crucial have been Uzbekistan’s initiatives on resolving the conflict in Afghanistan by non-military means and socio-economic reconstruction of that country. Significant amounts of humanitarian goods and non-military cargo are delivered to Afghanistan through the territory of our republic. In addition, Uzbekistan provides practical assistance to its southern neighbor by supplying it with electricity, construction materials and soft commodities. Furthermore, our country participates in building up Afghanistan’s transport infrastructure.

During the meeting at Oqsaroy, James Steinberg expressed sincere gratitude to President Karimov for the warm welcome, and confirmed the willingness of the United States to consolidate and boost the mutually beneficial Uzbek-American cooperation. The senior US diplomat stressed the constructive nature of our nation’s policy aimed at maintaining and fostering peace in the region. Deputy Secretary of State appreciated in particular Uzbekistan’s balanced and reasonable stance toward the recent events in Kyrgyzstan with our government providing a wide-scale and comprehensive aid to the victims and refugees fled from southern regions of that country.

Prospects of enhancing the bilateral cooperation on a wide range of issues and other topics of common interest have also been discussed at the event.

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