US defence secretary and Polish president to visit Uzbekistan

UzLand.Uz February 21 U.S. Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is to visit Tashkent on 24-26 February, Uzbek Foreign Ministry Press Secretary Ilhom Zokirov told RIA Novosti. Donald Rumsfeld will arrive in Tashkent from Kuwait on 24 February in the second half of the day. During a meeting, Donald Rumsfeld and Uzbek President Islam Karimov are expected to discuss the prospects for bilateral relations, the situation in Central Asia and Afghanistan, and regional security problems. The forthcoming visit of Donald Rumsfeld to Uzbekistan is the third in the past two years. The present state and prospects of bilateral relations, and regional and international affairs were discussed during a short visit by Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski to Uzbekistan on 21 February. The leaders of the two countries, Aleksander Kwasniewski and Islam Karimov, discussed issues of trade and economic cooperation, and cooperation in fighting organized crime, terrorism and drug trafficking. The Polish president's short visit was carried out within the framework of his visit to Southeast Asian countries. Polish President Kwasniewski paid an official visit to Uzbekistan in October 2002 and Uzbek President Karimov returned the visit in July 2003.