Speaking at the session of the House Foreign Affairs Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives, Blake said: “Next month, I will also lead the U.S. delegation to Tashkent to participate in this year’s Annual Bilateral Consultation with Uzbekistan.”

He said Uzbekistan has been a critical part of regional support for Afghanistan, building a rail line connecting Afghanistan to Central Asia and providing electricity that benefits the Afghan people. In addition, Uzbekistan has a central role in the Northern Distribution Network, with the majority of supplies transiting through the Uzbek-Afghan border, he added.

“During our upcoming annual bilateral consultations, we will work to make progress on creating the business environment necessary to increase economic investment by U.S. firms, boost education and cultural exchanges, address ongoing human rights concerns, and strengthen our security and defense cooperation,” Blake said.

“We look forward to increasing cooperation with Uzbekistan in several areas. We are encouraged by General Motors’ significant investment in the country, including its construction of a new automotive power train factory, and we hope Uzbekistan will take steps to attract more U.S. companie”, he stated.

“We are slowly increasing our science and technology cooperation. The U.S. Department of Agriculture is working with Uzbekistan’s Institute of Genetics on cotton genomes, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science plans to hold a conference in Tashkent this September,” Blake said.