NATO envoy visits Uzbekistan
The Secretary General's Special Representative for the Caucasus and Central Asia, Robert F. Simmons, paid a working visit to Uzbekistan on 12 November.
The NATO envoy met Foreign Minister Norov, Defence Minister Mirzayev and Chair of the Senate's Foreign Relations Committee Safayev. Discussions focused on NATO-Uzbekistan relations and practical co-operation issues, regional security issues, and the situation in Afghanistan.
The Allies decided to appoint a Special Representative to the strategically important regions of the Caucasus and Central Asia at the Istanbul Summit in June 2004. Mr Simmons is the first to be given this responsibility. His role is to maintain high-level working contacts with regional leaders in support of NATO’s objectives in the region, namely promoting regional security and furthering NATO cooperation programmes there.