The Pentagon (06/26/96) — Secretary of Defense William Perry met June 26 with Uzbekistan's President Islom Karimov. They discussed the strong cooperative relationship between the United States and Uzbekistan and the concrete steps made by their two countries in the defense and security field.

Following is the text of a memorandum for correspondents released by the Department of Defense on the meeting:

(Begin text)

Secretary of Defense William J. Perry met today with President Islom Karimov of the Republic of Uzbekistan. They discussed security issues in Central Asia and the strong cooperative relationship between the United States and the Republic of Uzbekistan.

This was Karimov's first visit to the Pentagon, and it exemplifies the growing significance of the U.S.-Uzbekistani bilateral and multilateral security partnership. In the meeting, they noted the concrete steps that have taken place in the defense and security field, including;

• The signing of the October 1995 memorandum of understanding on defense cooperation.

• The establishment of a bilateral working group on defense cooperation and its two recent meetings.

• The establishment of a partnership between the Louisiana National Guard and the Armed Forces of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

• The establishment of military-to-military contacts.

• The establishment of a defense conversion committee to promote mutually beneficial economic links.

• The implementation of professional training programs through the U.S. Marshall Center in Garmisch, Germany, and through the international military and training program.

• Uzbekistan's recent and future participation in Partnership for Peace exercises.

They were in agreement that the posting of a Defense Attache at the U.S. Embassy in Tashkent has significantly enhanced communications and that the establishment of a Defense Attache office at the Embassy of the Republic of Uzbekistan in Washington would further facilitate communications.

Secretary Perry praised Uzbekistan's active participation in NATO's Partnership for Peace program and its efforts to form a combined peacekeeping battalion with Kazakstan and Kyrgyzstan, as well as the joint hosting of an exercise in the spirit of the Partnership for Peace in Central Asia in 1997.

They concluded the meeting with a commitment to continue to build on a solid foundation of partnership currently in place between the United States and the Republic of Uzbekistan in the interest of mutual peace and prosperity.