Ambassador Holbrooke met with President Karimov to discuss a range of issues of mutual interest, including the international efforts in Afghanistan.

President Islam Karimov expressed firm position of Uzbekistan towards further development of Uzbek-US relations on a constructive basis in establishing peace and stability in Afghanistan.

In his turn, Richard Holbrooke expressed the US administration’s interest to strengthening cooperation with Uzbekistan in ensuring regional security. He highlighted the particular importance of the position of Uzbekistan in the settlement of the Afghan conflict.

The sides considered issues related to development of bilateral cooperation and other topics representing mutual interest.

His visit builds upon the Annual Bilateral Consultations, or structured political dialogue, which was launched in Washington in December.