CHANCERIESTHE DIPLOMATIC ATLAS

Uzbekistan and the United States

Independence and Resident Embassies

The United States recognized Uzbekistan on December 25, 1991, as the Soviet Union dissolved. Formal diplomatic relations followed on February 19, 1992. An American embassy opened in Tashkent on March 16 under chargé Michael Mozur, while Uzbekistan’s first Washington embassy opened in February 1993. Uzbekistan’s later purchase of its Massachusetts Avenue building in 1996 was a change in premises for an existing embassy. [1] [2]

Security Cooperation and Its Limits

The war in Afghanistan made military access a central issue after September 2001. Uzbekistan allowed American forces to use Karshi-Khanabad airbase for operations supporting the campaign. A declaration of strategic partnership in March 2002 extended the relationship across political, economic, and security cooperation. Airfield use, reimbursement, and assistance remained subjects of dispute. [3] [4]

Those tensions sharpened after the killings at Andijan in May 2005. Washington supported calls for an international investigation, and Uzbekistan restricted American operations at the base. In late July, Tashkent demanded that American forces leave within six months. The United States ended its operations there on November 21. Tashkent delivered the demand to the American embassy, which remained open. [4]

Renewing a Working Framework

President Shavkat Mirziyoyev’s May 2018 visit to Washington brought an agreement to renew dialogue under the 2002 declaration. The joint statement connected cooperation over Afghanistan with trade, educational contacts, religious freedom, and economic reform. It also supported the C5+1 regional format and a plan for military cooperation. [5]

Labour Reform and Regional Connections

Economic relations also depended on conditions within Uzbekistan’s cotton industry. The United States supported International Labour Organization monitoring alongside European partners. In March 2022, the ILO reported that systemic forced labour and child labour had ended during the 2021 harvest, while a small share of workers still reported coercion. The finding followed changes to state procurement, labour inspection, and engagement with civil society. [6]

Uzbekistan’s participation in the first C5+1 presidential summit in September 2023 extended that engagement through a regional format established in 2015. The declaration addressed Afghanistan, border security, transport links, water, and energy, alongside educational and business contacts. For a state seeking broader access to markets, these negotiations joined security cooperation to the practical challenges of regional economic integration. [7]

Chronology

  1. 1991-12-25: Uzbekistan recognized. Bush recognized the independent state in his address on the Soviet Union’s dissolution. [1]
  2. 1992-02-19: Diplomatic relations established. Bush announced the establishment of relations. [1]
  3. 1992-03-16: American embassy opens. Michael Mozur served as chargé d’affaires in Tashkent. [1]
  4. 1993-02: Uzbek embassy opens in Washington. Uzbekistan’s mission history dates its first embassy to February 1993. [2]
  5. 2002-03: Strategic partnership declaration. The declaration established a framework across political, economic, and security cooperation. [3]
  6. 2005-07-29: Uzbekistan requests the end of American base use. The demarche to the American embassy sought departure from Karshi-Khanabad within six months. [4]
  7. 2005-11-21: American operations at Karshi-Khanabad end. The United States officially ceased the Afghanistan support operations at the base. [4]
  8. 2018-05-16: Presidents agree renewed strategic dialogue. The joint statement called for a new dialogue under the 2002 declaration. [5]

Diplomatic Milestones

  • U.S. recognition: 1991. U.S. recognition year in the Office of the Historian country history. This is distinct from establishing diplomatic relations. [1]
  • Relations established: 1992. First establishment of diplomatic relations in the Office of the Historian history; interruptions and later restorations do not replace the original year. [1]
  • First envoy to U.S.: 1993. Mukhamed Bobir Malikov presented credentials on 11 June 1993; the appointment dates in February and March are distinct events. [8] [9]
  • D.C. mission opened: 1993. The first ambassador was accredited in 1993; the embassy’s history dates the Washington mission to that year. The present building was acquired later, in 1996. [2] [8]
  • Embassy status: 1993. The mission opened as an embassy in 1993 under Mukhamed Bobir Malikov. [8] [2]
  • Current chancery occupied: 1996. The existing researched mission chronology begins use of Clarence Moore House in 1996; the official embassy history dates acquisition to summer 1996, distinct from the mission’s 1993 opening. [2]

Sources

  1. Uzbekistan: recognition and diplomatic relations

    December 1991 recognition; February 1992 relations; March 1992 American embassy

    Recognition entry

    Establishment entry

    American embassy entry

  2. Embassy of Uzbekistan: establishment and premises

    Opening paragraphs and 1996 purchase paragraph

    Opening history paragraph

  3. Embassy of Uzbekistan: political relations

    Paragraph on the March 2002 strategic partnership declaration

    Declaration paragraph

  4. CRS: Uzbekistan’s closure of the airbase at Karshi-Khanabad

    RS22295, updated March 29, 2006, printed pp. 1–3; especially Termination of the SOFA

    Printed p. 3, Termination of the SOFA

    Printed p. 3, final paragraph

  5. United States-Uzbekistan joint statement, May 16, 2018

    Opening paragraphs and Regional Security, Reforms, and Economic Cooperation sections

    Opening paragraphs

  6. Uzbek Cotton Is Free from Systemic Child Labour and Forced Labour

    International Labour Organization, 1 March 2022; findings from the 2021 harvest, remaining coercion, reform of the state order system, and American support for monitoring.

  7. The New York Declaration: C5+1 Resilience Through Security, Economic, and Energy Partnership

    21 September 2023, DCPD202300821; regional forum from 2015, sovereignty, transport routes, critical minerals, energy, and human connections.

  8. Archived State Department: diplomatic appointments

    Mukhamed Bobir Malikov entry, 1993

  9. Fatikh Teshabaev — mission record (1994–1996)

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Uzbekistan and the United States. Chanceries Diplopedia. Record version a811d4ca92f2b2d66cbe.

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