EURUS Director Jeff Sahadeo (left) shakes hands with Uzbek Foreign Minister Dilyor Khakimov (right).
On November 22nd, the Institute of European, Russian and Eurasian Studies hosted an Uzbek delegation to Canada. The Uzbek delegation was in Ottawa for its annual bilateral meetings with the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT) as well as other business associations in Ottawa, including the Canadian Eurasia Russia Business Association (CERBA). EURUS Director Jeff Sahadeo had the opportunity to sit down with the Uzbek Delegation to discuss some of the items on the diplomatic agenda for this visit.
On the delegation’s agenda were a wide range of issues, including political, trade and economic, investment and cultural issues. One of the strategic points stressed throughout the visit was trade and in particular, the Uzbek mining and the oil and natural gas sectors of the economy. However, one of the largest and most pressing issues highlighted by the delegation was regional water management. Securing a consistent water supply has become a growing concern for the Uzbekistan government, especially with ongoing water disputes with neighbours Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. These issues and many others, such as minority rights and Uzbekistan’s economic development were touched upon during a presentation to a public forum at Carleton University by Dilyor Khakimov, Director of the Americas Department of the Uzbek Foreign Ministry. Students attending the public forum asked Director Khakimov several challenging questions, such as the potential effects to the cotton economy caused by the inability to secure a consistent water supply and Uzbekistan’s relations with other foreign powers, in particular Russia and the United States. Overall, the public forum was one of the highlights of Director Khakimov’s visit to Canada, who was impressed with the knowledge of EURUS students in Central Asian politics.
Finally, a priority issue between the Canadian and Uzbek governments was increasing inter-parliamentary contacts, which received an important boost in October 2012 with the establishment of an Uzbek-Canada Friendship Group in the House of Commons. According to the Uzbek press and government website, the Uzbek government looked favourably upon this Friendship Group’s establishment, as it demonstrated Canadian legislators’ interest in deepening bilateral ties with Uzbekistan. The Uzbek delegation’s visit to Ottawa was short, however the public forum held at EURUS, where students and Carleton faculty were provided a unique opportunity to listen and ask questions to a representative of one of Central Asia’s major political regimes, was a memorable opportunity for those in attendance.