17.05.2018

President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev held talks with US Defense Secretary James Mattis at the Pentagon.

Uzbek leader expressed his gratitude to the American side for many years of fruitful cooperation and noted that as a result of talks with President Donald Trump, relations between our countries have risen to a new level, the press service of the President of Uzbekistan said.

Based on the principles of openness and good neighborliness in its foreign policy, the defense doctrine of Uzbekistan was upgraded to further strengthen the sovereignty and independence of Uzbekistan. The structure and tasks of the military districts have been radically revised, military schools have been reformed. Uzbekistan is interested in sharing experience, military-technical cooperation, and cooperation in defense and security with the United States of America, Shavkat Mirziyoyev said.

The US Secretary of Defense expressed satisfaction with the visit of the President of Uzbekistan and underlined that Uzbekistan is an important geostrategic state in the region.

As a result of Uzbekistan’s open and constructive foreign policy, an atmosphere of good-neighborliness has been established in Central Asia. Your dialogue with the President of Afghanistan Ashraf Ghani, the appointment of special representative of Uzbekistan for Afghanistan is important. The five-year plan of military cooperation, adopted during your official visit, will serve to strengthen peace and security in the region, said James Mattis.

During the meeting, issues of strengthening cooperation in the spheres of defense and security were considered.