On June 16, at the fifth annual Tashkent International Investment Forum (TIIF), the U.S. government officials who will join the U.S.-Uzbekistan Business and Investment Council were announced. The news was reported by the U.S. Embassy in Uzbekistan.
The first members of the Council are:
- Vice President of the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) Bethany Aquilina Brez
- Senior Vice President of the Export-Import Bank of the United States Sarah Witten
- Deputy Assistant Secretary of Commerce David Fogel
- Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Economic, Energy, and Business Affairs Caleb Orr
- U.S. Ambassador to Uzbekistan Jonathan Henick
The diplomatic mission noted that the Council was officially launched in April 2026 in Washington. The platform serves as the main bilateral venue for accelerating trade and stimulating private-sector investment between the two countries. Its co-chairs are the U.S. President's Special Representative for South and Central Asia, Ambassador Sergio Gor, and the Head of the Administration of the President of Uzbekistan, Saida Mirziyoyeva.
The Council gives American companies direct access to U.S. government financing, trade promotion tools, and market development mechanisms for carrying out large-scale projects in Uzbekistan.
«Uzbekistan possesses significant reserves of critical minerals necessary for the technology, defense, and energy sectors of the United States. The Council provides a direct mechanism for expanding U.S. access to these resources through transparent, mutually beneficial partnerships. Through their participation, U.S. Council members will deepen the institutional framework for U.S. commercial engagement in Uzbekistan,» the U.S. Embassy emphasized.
At the U.S.-Uzbekistan business forum held ahead of TIIF, an announcement was made of Tashkent's intention to create a special economic zone (SEZ) in Uzbekistan for American companies, offering a business environment familiar to them. President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev held a meeting with a delegation of leading U.S. companies, including heads of the U.S. Export-Import Bank, the DFC, the U.S.-Uzbekistan Chamber of Commerce, and corporations such as Air Products, Cove Capital, Templeton Global Investments, Boeing, 77 Construction, BlackRock, FLS, Visa, JP Morgan, Meta, GULF, and many others.
The U.S.-Uzbekistan Business and Investment Council was established under agreements reached at the «C5+1» summit on November 6, 2025. The Council's first meeting took place in February 2026.
