Assistant Secretary Blake’s Remarks at the University of World Economy and Diplomacy

Assistant Secretary Robert Blake answers the questions of the students at the University of World Economy and Diplomacy. (U.S. Embassy photo)

The Rector N.Jumaev (right) presents a gift to Assistant Secretary R.Blake (left) at the University of World Economy and Diplomacy. (U.S. Embassy photo)

Thank you for that warm welcome, and for inviting me to say a few words regarding the United States' strategic relations in Central Asia.  I understand that our Ambassador George Krol and my Washington colleague Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs Mike Hammer have recently spoken at your university, and I am honored to follow in their footsteps.
Before I begin, allow me to express what a pleasure it is to be in Tashkent again with good friends.  As you know, I co-chair our Annual Bilateral Consultations with Foreign Minister Kamilov.  This process, along with several other regular meetings we hold, has helped bring our two countries closer together.  We thought it appropriate that one of Secretary Kerry’s first meetings in Washington was with Minister Kamilov last month.  I salute my counterparts in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for their hard work in forging what we have today – a respectful, open dialogue between friends.  This process has given me the opportunity to travel to Tashkent several times, and also to get outside of the capital to see some of the important, historic, and beautiful areas that exist throughout Uzbekistan.  Seeing these ancient sites reminds me of our shared responsibility to build something that will stand the test of time.  I welcome all of you—as the next generation of your country’s diplomats and civil servants—to an important and rewarding career, and I hope each of you has an opportunity to contribute to future progress, whether in Uzbekistan, Central Asia, or beyond. 
With that, I’d like to speak a bit about the United States and our interests in the region.  There can be little doubt that we are in the middle of an extremely dynamic time.  Historians may well look back at the results of our actions as an important inflection point in history.  No doubt they will do so with the clarity that comes with time.  Today, however, the future is not so clear.  As the political, economic, and security transitions in Afghanistan continue, many commentators are already recasting the story of the region in terms of a renewed "Great Game" while also forecasting diminished U.S. interest in the region.  But I reject this narrative.  Our engagement with, and commitment to, Central Asia and its people will continue far beyond 2014.  And to be clear, I am speaking not only of Afghanistan, but of Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan.  We have enjoyed strong relations with each of the five Central Asian nations and their people since their independence and will continue to work together in the years ahead.  Certainly, we hope the bilateral relationship with Uzbekistan will only deepen and mature with time.
And rather than a new "Great Game" – a concept best left to the history books – we believe that our engagement can instead help achieve "great gains" across the entire region.  The “Great Game” was something imposed from without that led to conflict.  “Great gains” will be achieved through rising cooperation and increased trade and lead to mutual benefit, which in turn will underpin the regional stability and prosperity your government seeks.  We see in Central Asia deep economic and human potential that can help forge physical, cultural, and commercial links that will be the building blocks for a more secure and prosperous future. 
From the perspective of the United States, we are working to facilitate such a future through our regional engagement in several arenas.  Today, I want to touch on three major focus areas:
First, our support for the vision of greater regional economic integration;
Second, our encouragement of meaningful, sustainable progress on human rights and democratic reforms; and
Finally, our security cooperation, including support for counter narcotics, border security, and regional stability.
Of course, our cooperation and engagement with Uzbekistan and the other Central Asian states reach beyond these three areas, including important educational and cultural exchange programs, as well as science and technology cooperation, just to name a few.
Let me begin by discussing the economic possibilities for the region.   

The New Silk Road Vision

The United States strongly supports the efforts of the Central Asian states and their neighbors to promote greater economic integration.  Increased trade and commerce among Central Asian, Southern Asian, and European states would contribute greatly to the region's security, stability, and prosperity.  This is especially true for Afghanistan, where an important economic transition is underway and where increased economic integration with the wider region would support efforts to improve security and bring a political end to the war in Afghanistan. 
This goal of building greater regional integration and prosperity has two important and inter-connected elements. 
The first is increased infrastructure connectivity – the physical roads, pipelines, and electric transmission lines that connect people and markets.  Uzbekistan has been a leader in this regard, and today we can begin to see those linkages taking shape:

• Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and Tajikistan are providing electricity to meet rising energy demand in Afghanistan. Through multi-country projects such as CASA-1000, electrical lines running through Afghanistan could someday transfer surplus hydropower from Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan to Afghanistan and Pakistan.
• New rail links are being developed between Afghanistan and its neighbors.  Uzbekistan constructed the first railway into Afghanistan, which already reaches Mazar-e-Sharif and could be extended to Herat. 
• Uzbekistan now exports growing quantities of gas to China in addition to its traditional export markets in Russia. The Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India, or TAPI, gas pipeline could transform the region's energy markets by connecting the surplus energy supplies of Turkmenistan with the energy hungry markets of South Asia.  While challenges remain, TAPI is closer to reality today than many skeptics thought possible just a few years ago.

Second, and equally important, is trade liberalization.  By this I mean the steps taken by countries in the region to facilitate the movement of goods, services, and people across borders.  These steps can take the form of reduced non-tariff trade barriers, improved regulatory regimes, more efficient border customs processes, and currency convertibility.
Already we are seeing positive signs of movement on these fronts.  Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Afghanistan formalized a Cross-Border Transport Agreement, and Afghanistan and Pakistan are working to implement a transit-trade agreement which will reduce costs and delays.  I understand Uzbekistan is close to joining the CIS Free Trade Zone.  And a number of Central Asian countries are stepping up efforts to strengthen protections for their workers abroad.
For many years Kyrgyzstan was the sole member of the World Trade Organization in the region.  Now Russia and Tajikistan are members and Kazakhstan and Afghanistan are making solid progress on their accession bids.  Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan have recently expressed interest in joining the WTO.  We strongly support these aspirations, because we all benefit from open and inclusive trade regimes in the region.  International businesses see WTO accession as a sign that countries, and in this case a whole region, are open for investment. 
Allow me to deviate from my speech for a moment to encourage Uzbekistan to reengage on accession talks.  We appreciate Uzbekistan’s desire to protect strategic industries in order to ensure their future competitiveness.  Such matters can be addressed in a thoughtful and sophisticated way during the Working Party negotiations, which are an integral part of the accession process.  The United States would be pleased to offer technical assistance to deal with this and other accession-related issues.
We see that the Central Asian states are increasingly agreeing on the importance of greater coordination, with each other and with international organizations.  They are engaging in regional mechanisms like the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation Program, or CAREC.  CAREC is facilitated by the Asian Development Bank and led by the countries of the region.  It includes Afghanistan and Pakistan and by 2020 will have mobilized $20 billion to improve six transportation corridors linking Central Asia with Europe, South Asia, Russia, and the Middle East. 
We are working with our local partners to expand cooperation on science and technology issues, building on our 2010 U.S.-Uzbekistan Science and Technology Agreement. For example, a team of researchers from both the U.S. and Uzbekistan is working with farmers in the Aral Sea basin and Kyzylkum desert to explore how the use of halophytes – salt loving plants – may be able to restore marginalized, salinized farmland and act as a source for biofuel production. 
Regional economic growth must also be fueled by engaging and empowering the people of Central Asia, especially the region's women, who can play an important role in fostering growth and development.  The group of Aral Sea researchers I just mentioned was led by a woman, as one example.  On a larger scale, in the summer of 2011, we hosted 200 dynamic women business leaders from across Central Asia at the Women’s Economic Symposium in Bishkek, and we have subsequently invested more than $2 million to provide training and promote women-run business networks and trade hubs.  These networks are now fostering entrepreneurship across the region: for example, over 150 new women-owned businesses have been started in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan, a regional women's business association was launched, and a Fergana Valley international textile trade hub was established.  
Obstacles to the economic integration of the broader region certainly remain, but we believe the region's increased connectivity and mobilization of its natural and human resources provides a way forward. And we will continue to support the countries of Central Asia as they broaden and deepen the network of economic activity linking their markets to each other and to the markets of Russia, China, India, and beyond. 

The Future of Democracy in Central Asia
Regional economic growth is intertwined with the promotion of democratic governance and human rights, because no society can reach its full potential if people are denied basic freedoms.  We raise these important topics in our discussions with each of our Central Asian partners, including in the Annual Bilateral Consultations, or ABCs.  These meetings provide an opportunity to review the full range of our relationship with senior leaders and to deepen our engagement with civil society.  During the last ABCs in Tashkent in August 2012, Senator Safaev and I co-chaired a remarkably thoughtful conversation with civil society leaders in which members of the parliament and government spoke frankly about legislative oversight and greater citizen involvement.   We hope to see more engagement with, and operating space for, a broad range of Uzbekistan’s civil society representatives to facilitate their contributions to the development of their country.
We remain focused on encouraging democratic reforms and progress on human rights.  President Karimov discussed in a 2010 speech his vision for democratic reform and strengthening Uzbek civil society, and we support these ideals.  The recent announcement of a pilot program to test a draft law on government transparency is a positive step.  We support efforts to put into practice the values enshrined in countries’ OSCE commitments, in the UN human rights treaties to which they have acceded, and in their own domestic laws.  We believe respecting human rights and enshrining legitimate and responsive democratic processes are necessary conditions for long-term peace and prosperity.  This is a lesson we in the United States have learned repeatedly over the course of our independence, and something we continue to grapple with, quite frankly.
We therefore continue to urge the government of Uzbekistan and governments across the region to address human rights concerns by ensuring space for peaceful exercise of the fundamental rights which undergird democratic societies, including those of assembly, expression, and movement.  Fundamentally, we believe people should be treated with equal dignity and protection whether they are following a majority religion or a minority religion -- or no religion at all. This is one of our most basic principles.  We urge open space for civil society and the media to discuss and critique governments.
We also continue to emphasize that respect for the right to free speech and free media, including internet freedom, and peaceful worship reduces the appeal of violent extremism and contributes to effective governance over the long-term.  Again, these are issues the United States grapples with as well.  We respect the sovereignty of our Central Asian partners and their responsibility to maintain peace and stability within their borders.  However, our experience teaches us that free speech and assembly do not promote extremist views.  Instead, they diminish such views by allowing people see how faulty such ideas really are.  Open discussion limits the appeal of the shadowy figures who promote these views.
Likewise, strengthening the ability of citizens to hold their governments accountable will not scare off investors.  Rather, it will lead to greater transparency and rule of law.  Predictable political and investment climates with sound governance attract more foreign investment. 
We are also exploring ways to increase our people-to people ties with Central Asia and among Central Asians.  Our exchange and visitor programs touch everyone from parliamentarians to NGO workers.  We were quite pleased to host Senator Safaev and a delegation of Uzbek parliamentarians in 2012, which visited local and state governments in North Carolina as well as federal legislators in Washington, DC.  We look forward to continuing these exchanges. 
Although these programs can often seem small, over time the number of participants can add up dramatically and build a long-term foundation for our bilateral relations.  These exchange program participants are at the heart of our people-to-people relationships, and we hope to increase such programs with our Uzbek friends and colleagues.

Security Cooperation

Just as we support the region's economic growth and encourage respect for human rights, we are also focused on supporting Central Asia's security and stability.  This is an important strategic interest of the United States and all the Central Asian states.  And it is a subject that is particularly resonant today as we look ahead to the “transition decade” in Afghanistan. 
Our Central Asian partners have provided vital support for international efforts in Afghanistan, and we will remain closely engaged there even as our military presence is reduced.  Our message is clear: our support for Afghan transition efforts and for regional security remain strong.  Our commitment to Afghan security, stability, and economic development remains steadfast.  Part of this security transition requires the sustained engagement of the region in solving regional problems.
We have worked closely with our partners in the region to counter narcotics trafficking and improve border security, including non-proliferation.  The Taliban and Al-Qaida finance their insurgent campaigns against the people of Afghanistan, partly through illicit trafficking.  Strengthening the border protection capabilities in Central Asia will disrupt the flow of narcotics and other illicit goods coming out of Afghanistan.  We count Uzbekistan as a strong partner in this effort as evidenced by the recent agreement between our Drug Enforcement Administration and the Ministry of Interior to work together jointly in the fight against illicit narcotics.
Our security cooperation with Uzbekistan, and all the Central Asian countries, does more than just help our partners deal with security challenges. It bolsters our bilateral ties.  Experience has shown us that cooperation in the sphere of national security can lead to broader engagement across the full range of bilateral issues.
 

Conclusion

Over the last twenty years, since Uzbekistan and the other Central Asian states achieved independence, we have built strong bilateral relations in Central Asia.  We have worked together to enhance stability, sovereignty, and prosperity.  Today we continue this work.  While we know we cannot agree on everything, we are committed to work together to address the common threats posed by trans-national terrorism and narcotics trafficking, and to achieve our common goal of supporting a secure, stable, and prosperous Afghanistan within a secure, stable and prosperous region.  As Foreign Minister Kamilov has said to me, in this region, the Uzbeks and the Afghans drink from the same river, the Amu Darya.  Increased coordination can lead to increased trade and increased prosperity for all.  We see the promise of "great gains" that will provide the people of Central Asia with increased stability, greater security, more open societies, and mutual understanding.

 http://uzbekistan.usembassy.gov/tr042513.html