U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Robert O. Blake, Jr. will lead interagency delegations to Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan February 14-19, 2011 to engage in bilateral consultations. In Ashgabat on February 16, he will conduct a mid-year review of the Annual Bilateral Consultations and will meet with government officials, business leaders, and civil society representatives. On February 17-18, he will lead the U.S. side in Tashkent at the second Annual Bilateral Consultations. A business delegation composed of representatives from leading U.S. firms will accompany him and hold an Uzbekistan-U.S. Business Forum on February 18. The Assistant Secretary will also meet with government officials and civil society representatives.
The United States launched the Annual Bilateral Consultations in 2009 with Central Asian countries in order to discuss the full spectrum of our bilateral relationships, including strategic cooperation, human rights, economic issues and regional challenges.
