November 17, 1994 - Archbishop Marian Oles arrived in Tashkent to establish diplomatic relations between the Vatican and Uzbekistan, Interfax reported on 14 November. In a meeting with President Islam Karimov, the archbishop designated health care and education as the most promising fields for cooperation between the two states and thanked Karimov for Uzbek government assistance in the restoration of a Roman Catholic church in the Uzbek capital. Karimov was quoted as terming religion a stabilizing factor in the country. Establishment of relations with the Vatican appears to be part of a change of direction in Uzbekistan's diplomacy, toward greater accommodation with the West.