Will Uzbekistan claim the status of Central Asian leader? – Abdulaziz Kamilov replies

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Uzbekistan Abdulaziz Kamilov gave an interview to Dennis Wooley, the author of the TV project “This Is America TV”, who arrived in Uzbekistan.

In the interview, Abdulaziz Kamilov was asked the following question: “Why should the United States of America be interested in Central Asia?”

“As you know, Central Asia has been playing a very important geopolitical role lately. Because it is an interesting region for major regional players like China, Russia, India and Pakistan. Secondly, we have a lot of natural resources. It is also the crossroads between East and West.

At the same time, we face threats from the Afghan side, such as terrorism and extremism. All such problems can be resolved only within the framework of pure international cooperation.

Of course, many powerful forces in Central Asia also have their own personal interests. Therefore, we emphasize that today Central Asia has become an important geopolitical center,” the minister said.

Kamilov also spoke about Uzbekistan’s policy with neighboring countries.

“If you pay attention, our foreign policy will prioritize constructive and friendly relations and close cooperation with our neighbors.

On the one hand, we have a unique position, such as being the center of Central Asia, on the other hand, there are many problems that need to be addressed separately with all neighboring countries. In the last three years, we have been able to solve many complex and delicate problems in the region, such as water distribution, energy resources, demarcation.

We have now been able to create a new political environment in Central Asia. President Mirziyoyev proposed to hold a regular summit of Central Asian leaders. We have done some of this, and maybe the next one will take place in Turkmenistan,” Abdulaziz Kamilov said.

Will Uzbekistan claim the status of the leader of the Central Asian region? The next question from the author of the program sounded like this.

“You know, we understand our responsibility. However, we do not want to become a player or a leader in the region.

At the same time, we have our own initiatives to improve the situation in the region, to strengthen security. Here are a few examples. In 2018, President Mirziyoyev announced an initiative to hold an international conference on Afghanistan. The ministerial conference was instrumental in accelerating the peace process in Afghanistan, as well as creating new political processes around Afghanistan.

From this point of view, we want to build equal and friendly relations with our neighbors. Because we have a lot in common: the languages we speak belong to the same family, and our religion, rivers are the same. We use common energy resources and transport communications. Based on this, Central Asia is a region with unique characteristics,” the FM of Uzbekistan noted.

“You have opened the borders. What is the next step?” Dennis Wooley asked.

“We have opened the borders. The next stage is to strengthen cooperation with our neighbors in the political, economic and security spheres. We also have some unresolved issues on our agenda. We will continue negotiations on this issue, only on better terms: these negotiations will be based on mutual trust, understanding and friendship,” Abdulaziz Kamilov replied.