Ambassador Norland’s comments were delivered April 12 at the conference called “The Effectiveness of the Anti-Crisis Program and Priorities of Post-Crisis Development in the Case of Uzbekistan.” The conference, which was chaired by Uzbekistan’s First Deputy Prime Minister Rustam Azimov, brought together finance experts, business people and academicians from dozens of countries as far flung as Indonesia, Latvia, Algeria, the United States, and the nations of Central Asia.

The conference looked at the lessons of the global financial crisis and the subsequent recession, as well as policies for post-crisis economic development. Norland spoke about the ongoing efforts in the US to better regulate the financial system, and that the US government was working with the international community to prevent future crises.

He and others noted that the Government of Uzbekistan’s economic policies had softened the impact of the global downturn in Uzbekistan.

“Measures to support demand and make sure that capital continued to flow helped to maintain growth in the midst of worldwide recession,” he said in his speech. “Recognizing these achievements, American and other international companies are once again taking note of Uzbekistan both as a market and as a possible destination for investment.”

The Ambassador said that future measures taken here would determine whether more American companies will want to do business in Uzbekistan.

“I am convinced that, with measures to strengthen legal protection of investors and to free the flow of capital – and here I am referring to the conversion issue – trade and investment between the United States and Uzbekistan will flourish,” Norland said. He noted that the US Embassy in Tashkent receives inquiries daily from American companies, some of which have recently sent high-level delegations to Uzbekistan.

The conference included discussions led by high-ranking officials of the Government of Uzbekistan, the Asian Development Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the Islamic Development Bank, and the United Nations Development Programme.