Letter From One President To Another

In the past, this column has oft reiterated the crucial strategic importance of Central Asia, the area commonly known in US parlance as ‘the Stans’, with a special emphasis on Uzbekistan as the region’s hub. Until the Soviets’ demise, neither the wider region nor the specific countries – Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan – had a chance to realize any sense of destiny. In the post-Soviet era, instability radiating out of Afghanistan kept the borders and polities in a defensive posture, distinctly isolationist. But in recent years, things have changed markedly. We have seen palpable improvements in rule of law, civil society, foreign investment, transparency of institutions and much else – along with a radical blossoming of trade between the countries and from there out to the world. In particular, the leadership change in Uzbekistan triggered a quantum leap in the region as a whole – soon after he took office in 2016, the Uzbek President, Shavkat Mirziyoyev, embarked on a tour of his neighbors to initiate a kind of collective reboot, and the pace has never flagged.

This column’s strident insistence on Central Asia and Uzbekistan’s importance had a concrete purpose – to raise the awareness and engagement of decision makers in the West. Whichever way the region goes, so goes the world – that has been the argument. This is a geography that matters, sitting as it does at the strategic crossroads between global players Russia, China, Iran, Afghanistan, India and the like. It was high time for the US to enter the stakes. For too long the argument fell on deaf ears – but no longer. In recent years, notably under the Biden administration, we’ve seen a surge in American attention to Uzbekistan and environs, chronicled in some past columns. In this edition, there’s a scoop – an official letter from President Biden to President Mirziyoyev illustrating exactly this welcome trend, dated August 11, and published here for the first time. A kind of global exclusive. From the US President’s White House office, on White House letterhead and signed by Joseph Biden. The letter is not controversial or liable to cause discomfort or scandal in any way. Rather, it demonstrates in cordial terms the Biden administration’s increased attention to Uzbekistan and the region – an invitation to participate in a meeting between the US and the five ‘Stans (C5 + 1) during the upcoming UN General Assembly in September. It’s authenticity is vouched for by the requisite high-level sources. Here is the exactly transcribed letter below.