US, Uzbekistan sign deal on establishing investment platform

The US and Uzbekistan have signed an agreement to establish a joint investment platform as Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev held a series of talks with US officials during a visit to Washington.

The agreement was finalized after Mirziyoyev met with Ben Black, CEO of the US International Development Finance Corporation, and John Jovanovic, president of the Export-Import Bank of the United States, according to a statement from the Uzbek presidency on Wednesday.

Officials said last year's negotiations with US President Donald Trump provided "strong momentum for the expansion of trade and investment cooperation with American business."

The statement noted that the talks focused on supporting the activities of the US-Uzbek Business and Investment Council and launching an investment platform to promote priority projects.

During the visit, Mirziyoyev also attended a ceremony for the signing of several bilateral documents and the presentation of joint initiatives.

"Today, partner reliability, predictability of rules, and long-term cooperation are paramount. It is within this framework that we build our interactions with the US," Mirziyoyev said, describing the economic agenda between the two countries as a key pillar of their strategic partnership.

"Priority areas for joint work with the United States were identified, including critical raw materials, petrochemicals, energy, agriculture, poultry farming, and others," the statement read.

Several additional agreements were signed at the ceremony, including documents related to the construction of a network of filling stations and the extraction and supply of critical minerals.

Apart from Black and Jovanovic, Mirziyoyev, who arrived in Washington to take part in a Board of Peace meeting on Thursday, also held separate talks with Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer.

In November last year, Trump hosted the leaders of all five Central Asian nations at a summit in Washington, where the US and Uzbekistan signed multiple agreements aimed at strengthening bilateral ties.