United States Assistant Secretary of Commerce Arun Kumar Makes Official Visit to Uzbekistan

On June 3-5, Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Global Markets and Director General of the U.S. and Foreign Commercial Service Arun Kumar visited Uzbekistan and held official meetings with First Deputy Prime Minister Azimov, Minister for Foreign Economic Relations Ganiev, and Minister of Foreign Affairs Kamilov.

During his visit, Assistant Secretary Kumar also participated in a roundtable discussion with visiting representatives of U.S. companies, members of the American Chamber of Commerce in Uzbekistan, and Uzbek government officials. Mr. Kumar also toured the General Motors Powertrain Plant in Tashkent and visited the historic city of Samarkand.

group of people
Assistant Secretary Kumar holds working lunch with U.S. business representatives. (U.S. Embassy photo)

The purpose of the Assistant Secretary’s visit was to further bilateral economic and commercial relations, and to discuss the U.S. – Uzbekistan Business Development Action plan.  The parties also discussed the possibility of increasing the frequency of business contacts between the two countries.

Arun M. Kumar was confirmed, by the U.S. Senate on March 13, 2014, as Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Global Markets and Director General of the US and Foreign Commercial Service.  In this role, Mr. Kumar leads the trade and investment promotion efforts for the U.S. Government.  With offices in over 100 U.S. cities and in 72 world markets, he also serves as the International Trade Administration’s lead official advocating for better market access for U.S. exporters.

In addition to Uzbekistan, Assistant Secretary Kumar also visited China and Kazakhstan during this trip.

goup of people
GM Uzbekistan Vice President Kaher Kazem provides an overview of the assembly process at the state-of-the-art GM Powertrain plant in Tashkent. (U.S. Embassy photo)