U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has said that ties between the United States and Uzbekistan will continue to grow and praised Uzbekistan for its progress on human rights issues.
Pompeo was speaking to journalists after talks with Uzbek Foreign Minister Abdulaziz Kamilov on February 3 in the Uzbek capital, Tashkent.
“Foreign Minister Kamilov and I started off by talking about Uzbekistan’s reform agenda, which has already started to generate new foreign investments and jobs,” Pompeo said, as reported by the U.S. Department of State. “We discussed ways, too, to further improve the business climate, strengthen the rule of law, and provide sustainable economic opportunities for all citizens all across Uzbekistan. We want private investment, American private investment sector, to flow between our two nations. There’s no better path to sustainable growth to foster investments than to create jobs and prosperity.”
Secretary Pompeo said that the United States Government is also doing its part helping Uzbekistan’s reform path continue. “In 2019, we committed nearly $100 million to bolster the rule of law, education, English language training, support for small businesses and entrepreneurs, and other forms of assistance. The [U.S.] Treasury Department will soon provide technical assistance on key financial sector and tax policy reforms.”
Pompeo announced that the U.S. government is committing, pending congressional approval, $1 million of technical assistance to help Uzbekistan develop its capital markets in addition to other efforts to promote financial reforms.
Pompeo also said that Uzbekistan is expanding space for civil society, addressing forced labor issues, and loosening restrictions on the media. “We look forward to further progress in these areas and others, especially in aggressively investigating and prosecuting human trafficking.”
Foreign Minister Kamilov said that the Uzbek side expressed a readiness to further create favorable conditions for U.S. business circles and encourage implementation of joint investment projects.
