Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev Before Their Meeting

PRESIDENT MIRZIYOYEV:  (Via interpreter) Dear Mr. Rubio, I cordially want to welcome you here in Uzbekistan.  Welcome to Uzbekistan, the ancient city of Samarkand.  This is your first visit to the region and Uzbekistan, and I’m convinced that it will warrant a new milestone in our relationship in further development of the C5+1 format. 

Despite of your busy schedule, you’ve arrived together with your wife and a large delegation of business people.  And it is a great moment for us.  I would like to congratulate you on your appointment as the President’s National Security Advisor.  It means a lot.  It reflects the great trust in you and in – it is also a recognition of your role in active advancement of U.S. interests globally, all over the world. 

I kindly ask you to convey my best wishes to President Trump.  I look forward very much to meeting him in Miami.  In August, we had a very significant telephone communication, by phone, and we’ve agreed on strengthening our strategic partnership.  In September, during the General Assembly, UN General Assembly, he spoke highly on our contribution to the work of the Board of Peace.  And we will continue working together in advancing the noble objectives and – the noble objectives of the board.

Decisive and dramatic policy of President Trump is truly admirable, and it deserves the highest praise.  Thanks to his efforts, Central Asia for the first time gains strategic attention of the United States of America. 

I would like to also congratulate you on the successful conduction of the ministerial meetings, C5+1.  And it was here 11 years ago when the foundation has been laid for that platform to happen.

We highly value firm commitment of the United States of America in strengthening sovereignty and independence of the countries of Central Asia.  Your words on the vital role of our region for the United States of America is of a special value for all of us.  We truly support all the priority areas of cooperation with Central Asia that you’ve proposed.

I am also very grateful to Mr. Gor for his great support in developing our relationship.  Due to your efforts and the efforts of the chief of my administration, Business and Investment Council has become efficient mechanism to promote joint projects.   We do not have this kind of format with any other country of the world.  By following the current meeting of the council, there were agreements achieved worth of $12 billion U.S. dollars and for us, it’s a great achievement.  Today we’ve launched a dialogue for enhanced strategic partnership. 

And I would also like to congratulate you with the signing of a very important document on cooperation in the area of peaceful nuclear and exploration of the Artemis peace.  And thank you so very much for that. 

It is right now my pleasure to pass it over to you.

SECRETARY RUBIO:  Well, thank you.  First of all, thank you, Mr. President, for hosting us, for your entire team.  It was a very warm welcome.  As I said, it’s my first visit not just to the region but to your country, and we come away incredibly impressed by the progress you’ve made, but also by the opportunities that we have.  It’s a feature of foreign relations that oftentimes crisis and problems dominate our attention and our time, and often that comes at the expense of opportunities.  President Trump has made it a cornerstone of his foreign policy that not only are we going to address and deal with the current problems of the world and the crises in the world, because those must be dealt with, but we are also, at the same time, going to ensure that we pursue incredible opportunities that we think have historic and unprecedented value.

And that’s why three months ago we began planning for this C5+1 gathering and following up on the summit in Washington D.C.  The opportunity that presents itself for both the United States and the countries of Central Asia are self-evident.  Throughout history, Central Asia has played an enormous role in fostering trade and relations between Eastern and Western countries.  And the extraordinary opportunity is the one that’s being created by seeing this region reopen both diplomatically and economically under leadership such as yours.

Uzbekistan in particular and Central Asia as a region is having a renaissance in commercial diplomacy, and the U.S. wants to be a part of that rejuvenation.  Across a variety of key sectors that include energy, critical minerals, agriculture, transportation, technology, the United States is partnering with Uzbekistan and other Central Asian countries. 

Now, we enter this with a clear view that each country that’s here at this ministerial today – and in particular the United States and Uzbekistan – are unique, sovereign nations, each with its own interests; which is why we celebrate the attitude of Central Asian countries, that they are open and willing to engage with the world, but doing so in ways that suit their needs and their ambitions for themselves and for their people.

Under President Trump, the United States is doing the exact same thing.  And the exciting opportunity, therefore, is when your ambitions and your desires for your future and your needs and your national interests are aligned with ours.  Because what’s important for you is also important for us.  That creates the sort of partnerships that create ties that bind for generations.  But for these to be beyond words, they require action. 

And I believe what we’ve already accomplished at this meeting this week is action that is going to put our respective countries further down the path of long-term prosperity and security.  Over the last few years, over the last few days, and I hope into the future, we will prove how working together as governments and with the private sector across many initiatives we can make sure that all of our countries remain strong and remain independent. 

I spoke to the President, President Trump, not two hours ago, and he wanted me to convey to you his thanks for your leadership and for your openness.  And he wanted me to acknowledge to you his recognition that the relationship between our countries is strong and growing stronger largely because of you and because of your leadership, and we’re excited to work with you and with all of our Central Asian partners to address the challenges and opportunities of this new era together.  Thank you.

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