Top US official to visit Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan
Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Robert Blake will visit Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan on April 22-26, the Uzbek media reported, citing U.S. sources.
According to the report, Robert Blake will arrive in Astana, Kazakhstan on Tuesday and hold talks with representatives of the Kazakh government. The sides will discuss bilateral relations and regional issues. He will also give a lecture at Nazarbayev University and meet with local representatives.
After visiting Astana, the Assistant Secretary of State will visit Tashkent, where he will meet with Uzbek senior officials. During the negotiations, the Uzbek and the U.S representatives will discuss a number of issues of mutual interest. In particular, they will consider the security, political, economic and humanitarian aspects of the bilateral relations.
On April 24, Robert Blake will give a lecture about the U.S. policy in Central Asia at the University of World Economy and Diplomacy in Tashkent. He will also meet with civilian leaders and representatives of the business community.
The U.S State Department representative's previous visit to Uzbekistan was made in August last year. It was reported that the third round of the Uzbek-U.S political consultations, as well as a business forum with participation of business circles of the two countries was held during the visit of the U.S. delegation headed by Blake.