US makes Uzbekistan leader in Central Asia

Expert Bakhrom Khamroev explained what is behind the foreign policy of Shavkat Mirziyoyev.

For the past three years, Uzbekistan has become an active player in Central Asia. The country moved away from the policy of isolationism and started not only to improve relations with the post-Soviet republics but also to claim the status of a regional leader. The fact is that Tashkent has begun to get closer to the «Western world», especially Washington, according to independent political expert Bakhrom Khamroev. In an interview with CentralAsia.news, he commented on the recent meeting at the government level of the Uzbek prime-minister Abdulla Aripov and the head of the MFA of Kyrgyzstan Ruslan Kazakbaev.

Undermined potential

It must be added that Aripov offered Kyrgyzstan support in carrying out reforms, assistance in the development of finance, technology, and even the fight against coronavirus. Considering the subject, which also includes help in the implementation of projects in agriculture and the construction industry, the interviewee commented on the potential of Uzbekistan, where not everything is so smooth.

— On the one hand, even in Soviet times, Tashkent was in the spotlight for the entire Central Asian space. Uzbekistan was the most populous and developed Central Asian republic, and until now, it is a country with the greatest regional potential, which determines its regional ambitions, — said Khamroev.

The interviewee stated that the republic had and still has potential, but due to the many years of rule of the first President Islam Karimov, it remained unrealized. The legacy of the leader who ruled for about 25 years still manifests itself in a negative way.

— On the other hand, this potential was not realized during the years of Karimov’s regime; on the contrary, the country degraded rapidly. Almost all spheres of life: economy, finance, management, education, culture, healthcare in Uzbekistan are in a severe crisis. The standard of living is one of the lowest in the region, almost a fifth part of the working-age population works abroad, — noted the expert.

From isolationism to leadership

With the arrival of new power in the country, foreign policy orientation also changed dramatically. If Karimov pursued an isolationist policy, then the current leader Shavkat Mirziyoyev took a course towards «openness» and active integration into the international political space. The expert drew attention to the fact that it is not only about Russia and Asian states.

— With external openness and friendliness towards the Russian Federation, cooperation with Western countries, and primarily with the United States, has been intensified a lot. Foreign Minister Abdulaziz Komilov constantly goes on business trips to the United States, American politicians and advisers frequenting visit the country, state reforms are carried out with the participation of overseas consultants, — said the interviewee.

Khamroev highlighted that a serious Uzbek diaspora has already been formed in the USA. It has become one of the conduits for American interests in Uzbekistan.

Washington and other Western states stopped criticizing Tashkent, which was quite traditional under Karimov. In addition, American money flowed into the republic. The expert believes that no other state in Central Asia receives so much attention from the United States. He noted that Russia is gradually losing its influence on Uzbekistan, especially since there is an outflow of migrants from the Russian Federation.

Khamroev is sure that American money helps Uzbekistan not only in domestic but also in foreign policy — Tashkent implements projects abroad. The expert is sure that without the USA, Uzbekistan would not invest since the country does not have the funds for it.

— At the same time, of course, these costs are coordinated with foreign partners. Thus, the logic of events directly suggests that in American foreign policy circles Uzbekistan is assigned the role of a regional leader and a conductor of US interests. And this function is not limited to relations with Kyrgyzstan. The active influence gets wider, for example, in the Tajik direction, — explained the political scientist.

The expert added that the strengthening of Uzbekistan in the region can be related to the displacement of Russia. In the West, Tashkent is supposed to play the role of an «elder brother», similar to the current informal status of Moscow.

22 ноя 2020, 11:11
Photo source: wordpress.com

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