MODERATOR: (In Uzbek.) (In English) Distinguished participants, honored guests, ladies and gentlemen, it is our distinct honor to welcome you to the meeting of the American-Uzbek Business and Investment Council.
(In Uzbek.) (In English) The floor is now given to the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan, His Excellency Shavkat Mirziyoyev, to deliver his welcoming remarks. (Applause.)
PRESIDENT MIRZIYOYEV: (Via interpreter) Dear Mr. Secretary Rubio, Mr. Gor, dear friends, I am truly pleased to welcome you to the second meeting of the Uzbekistan-United States Business and Investment Council. It is a particular pleasure to host our American friends in Samarkand, a city that has connected peoples, cultures, and trade routes for centuries. It is symbolic that in this very city, we are discussing new opportunities for cooperation between Uzbekistan and United States.
I'd like to extend my special thanks to the United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio, (inaudible) Sergio Gor, for participating in our meeting. I am pleased to welcome representatives of leading American companies, banks, and business circles. We value your interests in Uzbekistan and your confidence in our country. We are ready to work together to turn our plans into reality. (Applause.)
Dear friends, relations between Uzbekistan and the United States have now reached their highest level in the history of our cooperation. The personal attention and support of the United States President, Donald Trump, played an important role in this progress. (Applause.) We greatly appreciate his commitment for strengthening relations between our countries. We have established a strong political partnership.
It is now important to expand our economic ties as well. To this end, we have established the Uzbekistan-United States Business Investment Council. It is so chairs are the head of the presidential administration of Uzbekistan and the special envoy of the President of the United States.
I would like in particular emphasize that Uzbekistan has no comparable cooperation mechanism with any other country in the world. The council is already helping companies from our countries find partners, develop joint initiatives, and resolve issues as they arise. I am confident that its role will continue to grow.
Distinguished guests, much has changed in Uzbekistan in recent years. Our economy is growing, new businesses are opening, and jobs are being created. More and more young people are gaining access to education and training for modern professions, yet much work still lies ahead. We need to develop industry, build modern infrastructure, and create new opportunities for our citizens. We want investment to bring new technologies, knowledge, and expertise. We want our engineers to acquire skills that are in demand and our enterprise to manufacture competitive products.
Dear friends, we already have a strong track record of cooperation with American businesses. Bilateral trade is growing and hundreds of companies with American investment operate in Uzbekistan. We are cooperating in industry, energy, transport, agriculture, education, and new technologies. At the same time, Uzbek companies are also beginning to invest in the American economy. This is an important step in developing our mutually beneficial relationship. We want companies from both countries to establish more joint ventures, exchange technologies, and enter new markets together.
Today, there are several promising areas for this work. First, critical minerals: Uzbekistan has substantial natural resources and is ready to become a reliable partner of the United States in this field. It is important for us to develop the entire production cycle, from developing deposits and advanced processing of raw materials to manufacturing finished high-technology products.
Second, energy: Our rapidly growing economy needs a modern and reliable energy system. We invite American companies to participate in its modernization, introduce new technologies, and develop renewable energy and energy storage systems.
Third, digital technologies and artificial intelligence: Our strategic goal is to transform Uzbekistan into a regional hub for advanced technologies. In support of President Trump's major initiatives to develop artificial, super-intelligence, I propose taking our partnership to a new level. We see considerable opportunities for cooperation in establishing data centers and applying the most effective digital solutions in industry, agriculture, education, and public administration.
We place particular hopes in our young people. Uzbekistan has nearly 10 million determined young people who want to learn, create new things, and work at an international level. I want them to go beyond mastering advanced technologies. I want them to develop these technologies themselves and compete successfully in global markets.
Dear friends, in preparation for today's council meeting our team - our teams have carried out extensive joint work involving 45 Uzbek ministries and agencies. Each of the companies represented here has found a specific partner among the relevant government bodies, regional administrations, and leading Uzbek businesses. As a result, a package of 54 agreements and promising initiatives worth approximately 12 billion U.S. dollars has been put together. To put these projects into practice I propose developing comprehensive action plan.
To further improve the council's work, I believe we should focus on three priorities. First, we need to create clear and predictable conditions for American investors. Every company coming to Uzbekistan with serious intentions should know who to contact and a way to obtain their assistance it needs. As a particular step we are moving to a new model of working with investors based on the plug and play principle. We offer modern investment opportunities. We offer fully prepared projects with ready-to-use sites, infrastructure connections, and all necessary permits and documentation.
Uzbek entrepreneurs are ready to become partners in these projects and share investment risks. A direct investment fund has been established and is also ready to participate in such projects. Our task is to ensure that an American investor arriving in Uzbekistan can begin doing business immediately without spending time on administrative procedures.
Second, we should work together to develop new industries and strong centers of industrial and technological growth. I propose moving from individual projects to a broad industrial partnership, establishing joint clusters and research centers and integrating our enterprises into global value chains.
Third, we should transform our council into a strategic mechanism for a long-term economic partnership between our two countries. I propose developing a joint program for trade, investment, and technological cooperation for the period through 2035. This program will align the interests of major companies with the strategic priorities of our countries. The council should become a permanent platform for developing new initiatives, removing systematic barriers, and advancing major joint projects. The principal measure of our work should be concrete results, including new enterprises, jobs, and greater prosperity for people in both countries.
Dear friends, we have a clear understanding of what we want to achieve together and we are ready to work steadily toward these goals. I sincerely value your confidence in Uzbekistan, your interest in our country, and your willingness to develop mutually beneficial cooperation. I am confident that many successful joint endeavors lie ahead. I would like our meetings to become a valued tradition and for the positive results of our cooperation to give us ever more reason to come together.
Once again, thank you for participating in this meeting. I wish you fruitful discussions. Thank you very much for your attention. (Applause.)
MODERATOR: (In Uzbek.) (In English) We now invite the United States Secretary of State, His Excellency Marco Rubio, to the stage to deliver his welcoming remarks. (Applause.)
SECRETARY RUBIO: Thank you very much. Thank you all for being here today. It's - I didn't even finish the translation, when I heard him pronounce my name - you pronounce it the same in any language - and so I knew right away, and I came up here to speak. And I'm very grateful to be here with all of you tonight.
The - let me first start by saying this: I think for too long - this is a criticism of American foreign policy and American focus - I think for so long we've been captive to the crisis and to the problem. And there's no doubt the world will always have crisis and the world will always have problems, and the United States, given the nature and scope of our country, will always need to be involved in these things around the world. But I think often we have allowed the urgent and what's before us in terms of a problem to sometimes cost us the opportunity.
Our focus on a problem region or a problem country or a problem issue in the world still has to be there. But it cannot come at the expense of embracing opportunities. You have to be able to do both - certainly a large country and an influential country like the United States needs to be able to do both. And frankly, for too long, we did not. And one of the parts of the world and one of the regions of the world we should have been involved in sooner and in a bigger way is Central Asia, and in particular Uzbekistan.
What I am proud of is that that began to change a decade ago and has really accelerated under the leadership of President Trump. President Trump has given this relationship a priority. He's shown it's a priority in the sense of hosting a summit at the White House last year. He's made it a priority by putting someone he trusts as much as Sergio Gor in charge of this as an envoy to Central Asia. And I think - I hope my visit here today also signals what a priority it is for us. And more importantly, I think adding to all of that is inviting several countries, including Uzbekistan, from the region to attend as observers at the G20 in the United States at the end of this year. Let there be no doubt that the United States wants to be a partner of this region and wants to be a partner of this country. We already are, and we intend to build that and grow it.
I think today is a major step forward. In fact, I think when people look back a decade from now, half a decade from now, and talk about the evolution of this relationship, the United States to this region and in particular to Uzbekistan, they will look to this night. And they will look to the presence of all of you that are here today - over 200 business leaders that came all the way from the United States. Get used to it, because this partnership is going to grow and so you should - you might even be able, maybe, to purchase a condo or a small apartment here just so you - because you're going to be coming a lot. And you - we hope you're going to be coming a lot. And the president says he can help you find good real estate, right? (Applause.)
But all of this would not have been possible without the reforms, the reforms that have been made by you, Mr. President. You have opened up your country to the world, and more importantly, you have embraced the United States and President Trump as partners. You've given - (applause). And as a result, you've given not just to your country but the region - your neighbors - as well as the United States, an enormous opportunity to grow together.
I also have to thank - making - obviously, I already have all of you that have made the trip here today, and to be a part of these events. But I also do want to thank our hosts for bringing us all together, the United States-Uzbekistan Business and Investment Council, and its two co-chairs — our special envoy I mentioned earlier, Ambassador Sergio Gor; and the Head of the Uzbek Presidential Administration, Saida Mirziyoyeva. Did I pronounce it right? I was - (applause). We just call her Saida because we see her in so many different places, and she's so talented and so smart and works so hard. And thank you for the time you've both dedicated to this endeavor. Tonight would not have been possible without you. (Applause.)
And together with them and the B5+1 group, we were able to leverage all combined elements of our governments and private sectors to build business and relationships between our nations. And it's because of these shared values that we have that we are independent, sovereign nations, and our shared objectives, that we want the best for our nations and people, and that we are able to have such a - that we are able to have such a prosperous relationship.
I don't just gloss over those words. It's important to understand. We are sovereign and independent nations. And that means this country, Uzbekistan, has a national interest, and the United States has a national interest. We respect the fact that your government will always put the national interest of your people and your nation first. We under President Trump are doing the exact same thing.
And here's where the unique opportunity exists for partnership. When your national interests and our national interests are aligned - and they are, in so many areas - when what's good for America is also good for you and vice versa, that is the foundation of these partnerships and these opportunities that we are pursuing. And that's what this is all about, and that's what we're doing now as regards to this.
And it's also in a very important part of the world. Uzbekistan, and Central Asia more broadly, have always been the center of commerce and transit between the East and the West. It has literally been the bridge between East and West when it came to trade and commerce. It has been true for centuries. And geography has not changed. It remains more true today than ever before. Just geography alone is an incredible opportunity. That historic legacy lives on.
So as an example, last year Uzbekistan's airports handled 15.5 million passengers. That's a 15 percent increase, one year over another - just one year, a 15 percent increase. And that number will continue to go up. The international airport, Tashkent International, alone processed almost 10 million passengers. But it's not just passengers. Look at these figures. Cargo volumes climbed, reaching 98,200 metric tons. Again, that's a 12 percent increase just in cargo from one year to the next.
Why is this growth happening? Well, it's happening because of the reasons I've just outlined. But it's happening because people around the world, and especially in the United States, see what Uzbekistan has to offer their own countries - a central location for commerce, a large working-age population, an ambitious, open-minded president, an abundance of natural resources, and the potential - the potential for enormous growth in the technology and infrastructure sectors.
And it's true. Mr. President, you referred to Uzbekistan's third renaissance. Like the first two, this one will also embrace and is embracing excellence. The country is focused on results, embracing the most advanced science and technology, and building a future that will set this country and this region on the path of long-term security and prosperity.
We in the United States partner with Uzbekistan because we know being a part of this renaissance is in our national interest. And we are bringing about this renewal together, not just through government but through universities and through business like those represented here today. We are strengthening U.S. critical mineral supply chain security while modernizing or helping to modernize Uzbekistan's capacity to mine and process critical minerals with partners like the Colorado School of Mines. U.S. companies like Boeing and GE Aerospace equip Uzbek passenger jets with aircraft engines and parts, training, and just last year Boeing sold Uzbekistan Airways 22 widebody 787 Dreamliners.
We are developing cutting-edge scientific and technological partnerships, including in quantum, as embodied in the close relationship between the University of Texas at Dallas and the Samarkand Quantum Center. And we are powering Uzbek digital entrepreneurs in Tashkent's IP Park, providing application developers and U.S. chips and models built for the cutting edge of super intelligence. I have to call it super intelligence because President Trump has signed an executive order that says from now on we call it super intelligence, not artificial intelligence. So "super intelligence," and we like that.
We're introducing U.S. small modular reactors and modernizing the Uzbek electric grid and gas distribution network, thereby helping the government keep pace with rapidly growing demand for energy. And it goes both ways. For the first time ever we will have an Uzbekistan manufacturing operation in the United States. AKFA Group is investing $80 million in Bowling Green, Kentucky, committing to building a long-term industrial presence and contributing to the continued development of the American aluminum industry.
And there are so many other areas where we can grow together - in energy and robotics and fintech, in mining, in agriculture, many more. But the people who are going to lead the next era of U.S.-Uzbekistan business relations, you are in the room right now. And I'm extremely optimistic about the future of business and growth in Central Asia. We are doing our part to lay the regulatory and commercial foundation upon which your businesses will power and grow.
So while our nations are distinct and we in the United States greatly respect the unique culture, history, and interests of Uzbekistan and all of the other Central Asian countries, we know, because we have seen it, that we can do so much more together.
I am very grateful to have been welcomed so generously on this trip. We are a long way from home geographically, but the hospitality of the people from Uzbekistan and the other Central Asian countries we've encountered has made us feel welcomed and confident in the quality of the people of this vast region, and especially the people of this country. I can say without a doubt that based on what we have seen here over the last day and a half, and the conversations we have had, that Uzbekistan and Central Asia are ready to work and are ready to grow. And I think I speak for all American business leaders in the room here today when I say that we are ready and we are excited to work with you. Thank you. (Applause.)
MODERATOR: (In Uzbek.) (In English) We now invite the Head of the Administration of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan, and Co-Chair of the American-Uzbek Business and Investment Council, Her Excellency Saida Mirziyoyeva. (Applause.)
MS MIRZIYOYEVA: (Via interpreter) Dear Mr. President, dear Mr. Rubio, as well as Mr. Sergio Gor, dear representatives: (In English) Mr. Secretary, Welcome to Uzbekistan, the first stop of your first visit to Central Asia. We take it is as a compliment. In April you received us in Washington, and tonight we are glad to return the favor. And I should warn you that Uzbek hospitality has one golden side effect: Guests tend to stay longer than planned. And we hope American business will find the same.
Mr. President, when you and President Trump met in Washington, you agreed to do something big. Then you gave this council one short instruction: Make it work. The administration likes instructions of that length, and so do we. And we promise your side a working mechanism, not a committee. In June, almost 200 American companies came to Tashkent - a record. Four months later, another hundred U.S. companies came with the Secretary. Records in this partnership do not last long, and we like it that way.
When we - what we have learned is that business moves where rules are clear, doors are open, and someone picks up the phone. So we try to be the people who pick up the phone. And when business asked, we changed the rules, and now the trade runs both ways. Uzbek investment is creating jobs in America, and what we buy from America keeps American factories busy. That is how a partnership stays honest. Both sides have to win.
And so tonight, a simple promise: Every company here will have a name to call, and any problem you raise will reach the co-chairs personally. (Applause.) Thank you.
Mr. Secretary, you called the Jackson-Vanik amendment a relic of the Cold War. We agree and we would be happy to see it retire. When it does, this council will be ready the next morning.
In Washington, we said we were past talking about potential. So tonight, I ask the same of you. Bring us a project or bring us a problem. Both are welcome. Thank you for choosing Uzbekistan. Thank you. (Applause.)
MODERATOR: (In Uzbek.) (In English) We now invite the U.S. President's Special Envoy for South and Central Asia and Co-Chair of the American-Uzbek Business and Investment Council, His Excellency Sergio Gor. (Applause.)
AMBASSADOR GOR: Good evening. Oh, we can do way better than that. Good evening. (Applause.) Thank you all for being here. Mr. President, President Mirziyoyev, thank you for your incredible hospitality. Thank you for welcoming us with open arms. It has been an incredible experience, not only for our U.S. delegation but a lot of these U.S. companies that are here today. And that wouldn't have happened without your personal leadership and your direction.
Let me see a show of hands. Who's here for the first time in Uzbekistan? So we got an incredible group, not only of people who've been here before but also new individuals. I want to thank my co-chair for the Business Council, my dear friend and the head of the presidential administration, Saida Mirziyoyeva. Thank you for all you have done. (Applause.)
I want to thank our incredible Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, for making this trip because he cares, the United States cares, the White House cares, and this entire administration is behind this effort. (Applause.) And of course, his incredible better half, Jeanette Rubio, thank you for also making this trip. (Applause.)
The secret to success is being prepared when opportunity comes. And for the last few years Uzbekistan has been preparing, and they have been preparing at a pace ahead of a lot of other people. And that opportunity came when President Trump came back to the White House. When he appointed me to this position, one of the first things he said is for too long the United States has not paid attention to this region.
We focused on the East; we focused on the Middle East. And that has changed under his leadership. That has changed when the President hosted the first historic C5+1 Summit at the White House. That has changed when, for the first time ever, we look forward to welcoming the President this December to the G20. And that has changed with this incredible Business Council, which is results-driven.
The president, I must say, reminds me very much of our presidents. He's results-driven, he moves fast, and he wants success. And that is something that we see every single day in the Oval Office and it is something that I have witnessed firsthand here over the last four trips that I've made in the last year.
Let me touch base real quick on what the council is doing. First, we're focused on infrastructure. We want to connect this region to global markets, and some of the companies here today have done that and continue to do that. Second, critical minerals - where we will work together to tap mineral wealth for the benefit of all. Third, emerging industries, including aerospace and super intelligence, where the next era of growth will be won.
Every country makes choices about who it builds its future with. Some partners show up with loans that come with opaque terms and projects that serve their own interests first. The United States offers something different: partnerships that respect sovereignty, honor the rule of law, and deliver long-term value to both sides.
President Donald Trump has made clear that America First diplomacy means putting commerce at the heart of our foreign policy. When American companies succeed abroad, Americans succeed at home. When other countries prosper through fair deals with American firms, they grow stronger and more resilient. Everyone in this room is proof that this approach works.
To the business leaders here tonight, governments can open doors, but you are the ones who walk through them. You sign the contracts, hire the workers, and turn commitments into factories, farms, and networks. We'll keep doing our part to cut the red tape, remove barriers, and stand behind American companies that invest here. I promise we will always take your call. I promise not only does this council want to work with you and elevate it to the next level, but that our entire administration stands behind you.
To our Uzbek counterparts, thank you for your ambition and your openness. We look forward to building with you, deal by deal and project by project. The merchants who came to Samarkand centuries ago left behind a legacy that still inspires the world. Let's make sure that years from now, people look back on this council and say this was where a new era of partnership began.
Thank you, Mr. President, once again for having us tonight, and I wish you all the success ahead. (Applause.)
MODERATOR: (In Uzbek.) (In English) Distinguished participants of the meeting, we now invite you to the ceremonial exchange of documents between the Republic of Uzbekistan and the United States of America, aimed at strengthening bilateral cooperation and advancing our partnership in transportation, the chemical industry, geology, and finance.
(The documents were exchanged.)
