As reported on the official website of the Foreign Ministry, on January 22, 2018, a forum on "Uzbekistan’s Foreign Policy: change and continuity under new leadership” was held at the Central Asia-Caucasus Institute (CACI) in Washington DC, USA.
According to the Embassy of Uzbekistan in the US, the event was attended by representatives of leading research institutes, non-governmental organizations, media, diplomatic corps and staffers of the US Congress.
Chairman of CACI Frederick Starr stated that large-scale reforms have been implemented in all spheres for a short time after the presidential election in Uzbekistan: steps were taken on liberalizing the national economy, the system of public administration has been reformed, opportunities were created for dialogue between people and government, activities of the mass media have been significantly intensified, the rights and interests of citizens is being protected. Uzbekistan took a course of rapprochement with neighboring countries in its foreign policy, Tashkent initiatives receive wide support in all the capitals of the region’s countries and Afghanistan, dialogue with leading Western countries, including USA has strengthened.
Director of the Center for Political-Military Analysis at the Hudson Institute Richard Weitz noted, that foreign policy initiatives of Uzbekistan open new opportunities for Central Asia. The Republic is promoting the agenda, which is based on the idea of a joint solution to existing problems. Thanks to this a shared understanding on the need to strengthen "mutual and frank dialogue" has been formed today in the region. Uzbekistan remains true to the fundamental principles of its foreign policy: Tashkent maintains equal relations with all states, on the basis of national interests and development priorities of the country.
John Herbst, director of the Atlantic Council's Eurasia Center drew attention to significant strengthening of Uzbek-American relations over the past year. In his opinion, this is due to similarities of positions of the presidents of the two countries on a number of current issues in the sphere of politics, economy and security.
The participants of the forum noted that measures adopted in Uzbekistan over the past year allow to assess the prospects for further development. The current course of Uzbekistan’s leadership is aimed at achieving long-term strategic results, thereby strengthening the country's prestige in the international arena and increasing the interest of foreign business to investing and implementing specific projects.
Following the forum, it was announced that two more similar events, dedicated to reforms in Uzbekistan in the sphere of public administration and protection of human rights and economic modernization of the country, will be held in CACI in the coming months.
