ICARDA, Uzbekistan
Sign Agreement

n  8 May1998, the Republic of Uzbekistan and ICARDA signed an agreement to cooperate in agricultural research. It was signed in Tashkent, on behalf of the Prime Minister of Uzbekistan, by His Excellency Mr Ismail Djurabekov, the First Deputy Prime Minister and Cabinet Minister in Charge of Agriculture and Water Resources (MAWR), and  by the ICARDA Director General, Prof. Dr Adel El-Beltagy.
The agreement provides diplomatic status to ICARDA's mission in Uzbekistan, and allows establishment of ICARDA's Regional Office in Tashkent.
The signing ceremony, held in the Ceremony House of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, was witnessed by a number of high officials of the Government of Uzbekistan, including H.E. Mr Shavkat S. Khamrakulov, the First Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA), and Prof. Nejmetdin Makhmudhodjaev, Director General of the Uzbek Scientific Production Center for Agriculture (USPCA) and Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Water Resources. From ICARDA, Dr Surendra Beniwal, Coordinator of the Highlands and Central Asia Regional Program, and Dr Mekhlis Suleimenov, Liaison Officer for Central Asia, attended the ceremony.
In his remarks on the occasion, His Excellency Mr Djurabekov thanked ICARDA for its keen interest in agricultural research and development in Uzbekistan and for agreeing to establish its Regional Office in Tashkent. He highlighted some recent steps that his Government had taken to achieve self-sufficiency in grain and food production. He said: "We very much appreciate the efforts and initiatives of ICARDA and the CGIAR in addressing the needs of agricultural research and development in the region, and in assisting the Republics in their efforts to increase agricultural production in a sustainable and eco-friendly manner."

fter signing the agreement, ICARDA Director General Prof. Dr El-Beltagy thanked the Government of Uzbekistan and especially H.E. Mr Djurabekov for all the assistance so far provided to ICARDA--including provision of a special             

status  through this agreement. He appreciated the recent steps that the Government of Uzbekistan had taken on land reform and encouraging private farmers for achieving self-sufficiency in food. He assured Mr Djurabekov that "we shall complement you and be your dependable partner in these efforts."
       He also highlighted the decision of the CGIAR to work with the Republics of Central Asia and the Caucasus (CAC) to fulfil its mandate and mission, and to add the CAC region to ICARDA's  mandate region. Thus, he emphasized, the establishment of an ICARDA Regional Office for Central Asia in Tashkent was a very important development in expanding the partnership with the countries in the CAC region.
       A reception to mark this important occasion was organized on behalf of the Director General of ICARDA, and was attended by high-ranking officials of  MoFA, MAWR, USPCA, Samarkand University, and ambassadors and officials of the embassies represented in Tashkent.