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On 31 May, Kazakhstan First Deputy Foreign Minister Akan Rakhmetullin and Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs Donald Lu attended the sixth meeting of the Enhanced Strategic Partnership Dialogue (ESPD) between Kazakhstan and the United States in Washington, According to Kazakhstan’s Foreign Ministry, summaries were provided on recent collaborative initiatives and views on current bilateral and regional issues were synchronized. Plans were outlined for further development and enhancement of the countries’ strategic partnership, with a special emphasis on aspects of political and economic cooperation, as well as the human dimension. The participants also discussed projected outcomes of the meeting in the U.S in March, between Deputy Prime Minister - Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan Murat Nurtleu and Secretary of State Antony Blinken. Rakhmetullin drew attention to the alignment of the political and democratic transformations declared by President Tokayev on the main issues on the bilateral agenda. He then highlighted the importance of developing infrastructure projects and transportation routes as key elements of bilateral trade and economic interaction. The parties also discussed cooperation in the fields of energy and critical minerals. The American side praised the steady progress of the bilateral partnership, with reference to projects launched following the C5+1 Presidential Summit in September 2023. During their visit, the Kazakh delegation also attended separate meetings with leaders of U.S. Administration, the State Department, the Office of the Trade, and other relevant U.S. agencies. At a round table event with representatives of American civil society, the Kazakh side gave presentations on innovations in national legislation on the protection of human rights in the country. The meeting concluded with an agreement to further Kazakhstan – U.S. Enhanced Strategic Partnership Dialogue at a meeting scheduled for 2025 in Astana.
The agreement “On the ratification of the agreement between the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Uzbekistan and the U.S. Department of Defense on measures to protect classified military information” was approved, Platina.uz reports. This decision was made during a regular plenary session of the Senate of Uzbekistan. The 25-point agreement prepared by the Senate Committee on International Relations, Foreign Economic Relations, Foreign Investments and Tourism, was signed in Washington on June 9, 2023. According to the chairman of the Committee, Ravshanbek Alimov, the official visit of the President of Uzbekistan to the USA on May 15-17, 2018 was a strong impetus to the strategic development of Uzbekistan-U.S. relations. One of the important directions of partnership between the two countries is, of course, the military-technical partnership. In the discussion, it was noted that ratification of this agreement does not require any changes to the practical legislation of Uzbekistan or the allocation of additional funds from the budget.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has published its Special 301 Report for 2024 on the protection and enforcement of intellectual property. This annual report details the USTR’s review of more than 100 trading partners after significant research and extensive engagement with stakeholders, and the latest iteration holds very positive news for Uzbekistan. According to the report, the USTR removed Uzbekistan from its Watch List this year because of sustained progress on long-standing issues pertaining to intellectual property (IP) protection and enforcement. For example, Uzbekistan enacted new Customs Code amendments that introduce ex officio authority to suspend and seize counterfeit imports and exports. Uzbekistan also continues to give high-level political attention to IP - including support for and participation in the Intellectual Property Working Group under the U.S.-Central Asia Trade and Investment Framework Agreement. It was reported that the removal of Ukraine from the watch list was delayed due to the ongoing Russian-Ukrainian war. The USTR continues to engage trading partners to address IP protection and enforcement concerns, including through bilateral cooperation through Trade and Investment Frameworks (TIFAs) and other mechanisms. Examples of cooperation include deals with Armenia, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Paraguay, Peru, Tajikistan, Thailand, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam.
