The May 5 meeting in Tashkent built upon the commitment made at the October 2009 TIFA Council meeting held in Washington to strengthen engagement through concrete business-oriented initiatives.

The TIFA provides a forum to enhance the trade and investment relationships between the US and five Central Asian nations: Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. The agreement is designed to build trade and investment ties both with the United States and across the region.

Opening the Working Group meeting, Ambassador Richard Norland said, “It is fitting that we should come together in Tashkent following the Asian Development Bank Annual Meeting, where the focus was clearly on the importance of regional economic cooperation to the future of Asia. Our TIFA is one mechanism to support this process and to build trade and investment ties between the region and the United States.”

Representatives from governments across Central Asia gave presentations on some of the most important business opportunities in their countries, ranging from mining projects in Afghanistan to expansion of Caspian Sea port facilities in Turkmenistan and the creation of the Free Industrial Economic Zone in Navoi, Uzbekistan. USTR Director for Central Asia Michael Feldman highlighted the importance of public-private partnerships, especially in the area of transportation, to facilitate regional trade.

The US delegation discussed potential opportunities for Central Asian businesses from the expansion of the Northern Distribution Network that supplies reconstruction and development materials to Afghanistan through Central Asia. It was announced that Tashkent would be the first stop in a series of US government-sponsored seminars to brief local suppliers.

Representatives from the Government of Afghanistan, which is an observer to the US-Central Asia TIFA, reported on significant economic progress in Afghanistan. These include major development projects such as road building and the Uzbekistan-backed projects of building a railroad to Mazar-i-Sharif and providing electricity to Kabul. The US delegation announced the start of a series of seminars on opportunities for Central Asian companies to supply products to Afghanistan.

Delegation head Madelyn Spirnak said, “The US Government attaches great importance to the TIFA as a mechanism for improving the business and investment climate in the region and for increasing trade between the United States and Central Asia. Our Tashkent meeting successfully brought together government and business to advance our economic partnership.”