Washington, DC– On April 17, 2019, the United States and Uzbekistan took an important step to enhance cooperation in natural resources by signing a Memorandum of Understanding between the U.S. Geological Survey and the State Committee of the Republic of Uzbekistan on Geology and Mineral Resources. The MOU was a follow-on to US Department of Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross’ visit to Tashkent in October 2018. This signing event took place during the recent visit of a high level Uzbek delegation to the United States, which included Deputy Prime Minister Elyor Ganiev and Bobir Islamov, Chairman of the State Committee.
The initial focus of the bilateral cooperation between both parties will be on capacity building in data, resource assessments and methodology, and information pertaining to critical minerals and their economic viability. Moreover, USGS plans to engage on conventional and unconventional energy resource data management, assessments and methodology, and hopes to engage on water resources in the near future.
This important memorandum was signed after several high-level bilateral meetings in both the United States and Uzbekistan to determine the topics and scope of bilateral cooperation of mutual interest. Plans are under development for bilateral scientific exchanges through visits to Tashkent in July 2019, and the US in September 2019. These exchange visits, which will include important elements of capacity building and data and information sharing, will continue over the next several years and should lead to economic growth opportunities and enhanced capabilities for Uzbekistan.
