Blake said: “My visit to Uzbekistan reflects the US determination to strengthen ties with Uzbekistan across the full range of issues on our bilateral agenda”.

“Over the past two days, I was very pleased to have the opportunity to meet with a number of people here in Tashkent. These included First Deputy Foreign Minister Kamilov, many other government officials, civil society representatives, and business leaders”, he added.

“In our meetings with government officials we discussed ways that the United States and Uzbekistan can strengthen our ties across a wide range of areas. These include security cooperation, trade and development, science and technology, counter-narcotics, civil society development, and human rights”, the US official stated.

“I noted that the Unites States highly values Uzbekistan’s support for international efforts in Afghanistan, including allowing the transit of non-lethal supplies for NATO troops in Afghanistan, the provision of electricity to Afghanistan, and the construction of a railway line from Hairaton to Mazar-e Sharif”.