The USAID Administrator Samantha Power announced plans to visit Uzbekistan, she announced in her remarks at the ceremony dedicated to the 30th anniversary of Uzbekistan's independence in Washington on September 9.
Samantha Power said she should have visited the country a long time ago. Her parents visited Uzbekistan and told her about their trips. Now there is a great reason for this - a year ago USAID opened a full-fledged mission in Uzbekistan, which became "a truly important sign of stregthened relations between our countries."
She noted that the United States welcomes President Shavkat Mirziyoyev's vision of "New Uzbekistan".
“Uzbekistan very quickly embarked on bold economic reforms to enable people to improve their well-being, build businesses and create sustainable economic opportunities for their communities. We hope that these reforms will have a real impact on real people on the ground,” she said.
“We in the United States know that democracies are not born overnight. And human prosperity is not enough for democracies to flourish. The people of Uzbekistan have clearly expressed their desire to create a government that will respond to their needs. Uzbeks know that in order to prosper, the press and civil society must be able to freely express their opinions, corruption must be eradicated so that foreign investment can flow, and free and competitive elections must reflect the will of the people,” she added.
She assured that the United States will always remain Uzbekistan’s reliable partner.
