Uzbekistan's Foreign Minister Abdulaziz Kamilov and US Assistant Secretary of State Donald Lu have discussed Tashkent's initiative to establish a regional logistics hub under United Nations auspices to provide urgent humanitarian aid to Afghans, according to a joint statement published by the State Department on Monday
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 13th December, 2021) Uzbekistan's Foreign Minister Abdulaziz Kamilov and US Assistant Secretary of State Donald Lu have discussed Tashkent's initiative to establish a regional logistics hub under United Nations auspices to provide urgent humanitarian aid to Afghans, according to a joint statement published by the State Department on Monday.
The joint statement was issued after the first meeting of the US-Uzbekistan Strategic Partnership Dialogue in Tashkent earlier in the day.
"The Foreign Minister and Assistant Secretary Lu expressed the commitment of Uzbekistan and the United States to continue humanitarian support directly to the Afghan people," the joint statement said. "The United States expressed appreciation for the services made available to humanitarian actors at the Termez Cargo Center and welcomed Uzbekistan's initiative to create a regional logistics hub in Termez under the auspices of the United Nations to provide urgent humanitarian assistance to the people of Afghanistan."
The two countries expressed readiness to boost regional engagement through the C5+1 and the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement, the joint statement said.
"The delegations reaffirmed the importance of, and support for, Uzbekistan's accession to the World Trade Organization and exchanged views on opportunities to increase US private sector trade and investment in Uzbekistan. The sides stressed the importance of strengthening security cooperation by deepening ties between defense departments, law enforcement agencies, and border and customs authorities," the joint statement said.
Both countries also noted the 2021 UN General Assembly resolution on the Aral Sea region and highlighted their pledges to reduce national greenhouse gas emissions in line with the goal of limiting global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius, the joint statement said.
"The delegations also affirmed their shared interest in strengthening people-to-people ties through academic and research exchanges, and opportunities for vocational, English-language, and STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) programming," it added.
The United States and Uzbekistan will continue to exchange views on topical issues via expert-level working groups, according to the statement.
