Herbst Statement - 06.21.2000

 

PREPARED STATEMENT 
OF JOHN HERBST

AMBASSADOR DESIGNATE TO UZBEKISTAN

BEFORE THE SENATE COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN RELATIONS 

Mr. Chairman and members of the Committee, I am delighted and honored to come before you today as President Clinton's nominee to be the next Ambassador of the United States to the Republic of Uzbekistan. I thank the President and Secretary Albright for the trust that they have placed in me. If confirmed by the Senate, I intend to work closely with this committee and others in the Congress to advance American interest in Uzbekistan and throughout Central Asia.

Mr. Chairman, I am a career Senior Foreign Service Officer who has split 21 years in the State Department between work on and in the former Soviet Union and the Middle East. Past assignments have given me the management and policy experience and the area expertise to meet the challenges of leading the American Embassy in Tashkent. I learned the ins and outs of running a diplomatic mission as Consul General at the U.S. Consulate in Jerusalem. I played an active role in managing our relationships with the Newly Independent States of the Former Soviet Union as the Principal Deputy to the Ambassador at Large for the Newly Independent States, and as the Director of the Office of Independent States and Commonwealth Affairs. I have also served as Director of the Office of Regional Affairs in the Bureau of Near East Asian Affairs, Political Counselor at Embassy Tel Aviv, and Deputy Director for Economics in the Office of Soviet Union Affairs. In these and other positions, I have helped formulate policy, overseen policy implementation, and negotiated with foreign governments.

I have devoted close to half of my career to work on first the Soviet Union and then the Newly Independent States. I served at our Embassy in Moscow, and have conducted business in capitals of most of the Newly Independent States. I am familiar with the security and the reform issues in these countries that stand at the center of our policy interests.

Mr. Chairman, if confirmed by the Senate, I look forward to advancing American interests in Uzbekistan. This starts with our close cooperation with Tashkent in the security areas -- countering the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their components, stopping narcotics trafficking, and fighting terrorism. When visiting Central Asia this spring, Secretary Albright proposed American assistance to enhance Uzbek efforts in these areas by bolstering border security. Uzbekistan has been an active participant in NATO's Partnership for Peace, including the Central Asian Peacekeeping Battalion, and in the "6+2" contact group designed to find a constructive solution to the conflict in Afghanistan.

If confirmed by the Senate, I will work hard to strengthen Uzbekistan's commitment to democracy, the rule of law, and human rights. Frankly, the government of Uzbekistan has made too little progress in this area. I will likewise do my best to promote economic liberalization, starting with the introduction of a fully convertible currency. An important policy tool as we encourage Uzbekistan to move from its communist past towards a market democracy is our assistance program. We greatly appreciate the cooperation of the Congress in supporting this program. We are also working hard to promote regional cooperation to address problems facing all the nations of Central Asia such as water shortages, environmental degradation, and trade and energy development.

Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee, thank you for this opportunity to meet with you. I would be pleased to respond to any questions.