House of Representatives of the US Congress created a “Caucus on Uzbekistan”, which includes leading congressmen and political figures.
According to the Embassy of Uzbekistan in Washington, the unification of American congressmen and senators into so-called caucuses, which are affiliates, is now becoming widespread in Congress. Given the lack of complex bureaucratic procedures in their activities, caucus allow to respond quickly to a particular problem, as well as quickly assemble lawmakers to discuss the situation around a particular issue.
The creation of “Caucus on Uzbekistan” has long been on the agenda of bilateral political and diplomatic relations. At the same time, real progress in the creation of this group and the unification of the leading congressmen into it was made after the historic visit of the President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev to the United States in May 2018.
As part of his stay in Washington, the head of state held fruitful negotiations on Capitol Hill with a group of members of Congress led by Congressman Trent Kelly from Mississippi.
During the meeting, an agreement was reached on creation of a “Caucus on Uzbekistan”, and Trent Kelly expressed his willingness to head this structure and involve other leading members of the House of Representatives in its activities. Another leading legislator, Vicente Gonsaliz from the state of Texas, became co-chairman in the created structure.
As a result, at the end of August, the administration of the US Congress officially registered the first caucus in the history of bilateral Uzbek-American relations in the House of Representatives.
In accordance with the established practice, the Caucus on Uzbekistan will meet twice a year to discuss ways to further develop US-Uzbek cooperation. It is planned that the first meeting of members of this group and other congressmen interested in joining the activities of this structure, including from among the newly elected legislators, will be held in early January 2019.
At the same time, to accomplish the task of raising awareness of our country, the leading members of the US Congress, the Co-Chairs of Caucus on Uzbekistan, gathered from the promising American legislators, a delegation was formed to visit Uzbekistan. In addition to the Co-Chairs of Caucus- Trent Kelly and Vicente Gonsaliz – Ron Estes and Roger Marshall (Kansas), Austin Scott (Georgia) and Jennifer Gonzalez (Puerto Rico) are among the delegation.
As noted by Trent Kelly, representatives of the Congress have high hopes for the upcoming visit to the republic in terms of determining priorities within Uzbekistan’s foreign policy, as well as prospects for Uzbek-American cooperation at both federal and regional levels.
In Tashkent, the US lawmakers intend to voice specific proposals for building partnerships between Uzbekistan and the states they represent.
In general, the creation of the “Caucus on Uzbekistan” and the intensification of mutual visits demonstrate the growing dynamics of inter-parliamentary cooperation between Uzbekistan and the United States.
The Embassy of Uzbekistan in Washington said that the upcoming visit of the delegation of the Congress to Tashkent will significantly increase the interest in the republic among the leading American legislators, thereby contributing to the expansion of the “Caucus on Uzbekistan” and its transformation into one of the most influential structures in Capitol the hill.
