“I look forward to starting the second round of ABCs with Uzbekistan next month in Tashkent,” said Robert Blake, speaking at the James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy at Rice University.

“To use the window of opportunity to establish a deeper and broader dialogue with each of the Central Asian countries, the US established Annual Bilateral Consultations last year,” the US official said.

He said: “In each of those held last year, we engaged in frank discussions about trade, human rights, democratic reform, defense cooperation, regional issues such as Afghanistan, and any other issue that either side thought relevant”.

Speaking about priorities of the US Administration, Robert Blake said: “We aim to expand our cooperation and engagement with Central Asia. We are now looking at new cooperation in areas such as counter-narcotics to complement our political dialogue.”