The Senate at its May 18 meeting approved the Bill on the ratification of the agreement between the Ministry of Defense of Uzbekistan and the US Department of Defense on measures to protect classified military information, which was signed in Washington on June 9, 2023.

Chairman of the Committee on International Relations, Foreign Economic Relations, Foreign Investment and Tourism Ravshanbek Alimov noted that the United States was one of the first to recognize the independence of Uzbekistan and has been one of the country’s important partners in recent years.

Military-technical partnership is one of the important areas of partnership between the two countries, the senator added.

“The military-political situation in the world and the region, existing military threats require the development of military-technical cooperation of the Armed Forces of Uzbekistan with developed countries, including the United States. From this point of view, the issue of ratification of the agreement between the Ministry of Defense of Uzbekistan and the US Department of Defense on measures to protect classified military information is a logical continuation of efforts aimed at advancing bilateral relations,” he said.

Ravshanbek Alimov noted that ratification of the agreement will serve to create guarantees of cooperation between Uzbekistan and the United States, as well as the security and defense capability of the country. He noted that this will also create the necessary conditions for the mutually beneficial exchange of secret military information “on relevant issues.”

The agreement was prepared in Uzbek and English and consists of a recitals and 25 articles. Its ratification will not require any changes in legislation or the allocation of additional funds from the budget, the senator noted.

Senate Chairperson Tanzila Narbaeva called the document a “good law” that covers issues of mutually beneficial exchange of information, receiving free military-technical assistance to ensure national security, conducting training sessions on the operation of military equipment by units of the Ministry of Defense and others.

The Legislative Chamber passed this Bill at the end of December 2023.