UZBEKS ON ALBRIGHT IN UZBEKISTAN
It cannot be said that the visit of US
Secretary of State Madeleine Albright was a matter of great concern to the Uzbekistani
people. But the matter was on almost everoyone’s mind:
Jamsheed, 26 years old, Uzbek, manager at a multi-national corporation
stated: "Top officials from the United States are rare guests to our
country. And after each time one visits we expect an improvement in our two
countries’ relations. People are especially eager to see an increase in US
investments into Uzbekistan. They hope this will bring them jobs and better salaries. A
lot of people here are studying English and would be willing to work for American
companies. Unfortunately, the investment climate in Uzbekistan isn't favorable. We have an
inconvertible currency, prohibitively high taxes, bureaucracy, corruption, and incompetent
officials. People also have a very low purchasing power. Now political risks are added to
this list. Yet, it is amazing that our government’s official propaganda says this
nightmare is offering "unprecedented conditions for foreign investment!"
"We in Uzbekistan cannot complain about foreign investors and their lack of
interest in Uzbekistan. I perfectly remember how such respectable American companies as
Caterpillar and 3M tried to launch their operations here in 1997. In the spring of 1998,
groups of US businessmen visited Uzbekistan almost weekly and discussed investment
opportunities with President Karimov. All these efforts led to nothing. This time,
Secretary Madeleine Albright did her part of the job to help Uzbekistan. She granted US $3
million to strengthen our border security and informed our leaders that the United States
is open to closer ties with Uzbekistan. I don't think that she could do more. Now it's the
turn of our government to do their job--to conduct democratic and economic reforms".
Mikhail, 40 years old, Russian, teacher: "I feel myself
disappointed after this visit. There was practically no progress. Special Envoy to the
CIS, Stephen Sestanovich, has previously conducted United States-Uzbekistan meetings on
economic cooperation. When I learned that he is a member of the US delegation, I hoped
that some talks on this subject would follow. But this did not happen. Apparently, foreign
businessmen are simply tired of dealing with our officials. They hear only promises of
liberalization from our President. We should be grateful to Secretary Albright just for
coming here."
Yulia, 21 years old, Russian, student: "I don't think that
the USA is ready to play a considerable role in our security. Their investments in
Uzbekistan are small, and we have considerable problems with democracy. The fact that
Americans are aware of our problems is already a good thing. We should care more about our
own people ourselves. We are driven to extreme poverty, and it isn't surprising that many
of our people become victims to radical Islamic propaganda. Of course, I am grateful to
Madeleine Albright, because she reminded our President about democratic values."
Anonymous, Tashkent
