On January 30, 2019, the Uzbek Committee on Geology and Mineral Resources held talks through video conferencing with senior officials of the US Geological Survey (USGS), the Uzbek Foreign Ministry said.

USGS was represented by Ingrid Verstreten, Senior Scientific Advisor for Relations with Europe, Central Asia, the Arctic and Russia, Tom Krafford and Walter Guidroz, Mineral and Energy Resources Program Coordinators and Ellen Connorton, Senior Scientific Advisor to the Bureau of South and Central Asia Affairs.

The video call was held in the framework of the implementation of the agreements reached during the visit of US Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross to Uzbekistan in October 2018.

The parties thoroughly exchanged views on building up mutually beneficial cooperation in areas defined by the Uzbek-US intergovernmental Agreement on scientific and technical cooperation of 2012. In particular, the Uzbek Geology Committee and the USGS discussed prospects for cooperation in the areas of geological exploration of the subsoil, primarily through the exchange of experience and knowledge in this area, increase the reserves of hydro-mineral resources, and organization of joint research, including through the Embassy Science Department Fellow, which provides participating countries with access to the achievements of the United States in the field of science and technology.

According to the Uzbek Embassy, following the talks, the parties agreed to organize a visit of the USGS delegation from February 4 to 7 in Tashkent to hold targeted meetings with Uzbek relevant ministries and departments and develop practical measures for the further development of bilateral research cooperation. The parties discussed the provisional agenda and the program of the upcoming visit.