“No one knew Uzbekistan on this side of the US” – Interview with the Consul General in Seattle
Kun.uz's correspondent in the US spoke with Consul General Ahror Burhonov in Seattle. According to the diplomat, there is trust in Uzbekistan in America, and the main purpose of opening a representative office in the Pacific region is to promote the country and protect its citizens. So, why was Seattle chosen in particular, and with what mandates from the government did the consul arrive?
“No one on this side of the US knew about Uzbekistan” – Interview with the Consul General in Seattle
According to the diplomat, there is trust in Uzbekistan in America, and the main purpose of opening a mission in the Pacific region is to promote the country and protect its citizens. So, why was Seattle chosen, and what instructions did the consul receive from the government?
Last week, the Consulate General was officially opened in Seattle. The event was attended by Uzbekistan's Ambassador to the US, the Permanent Representative to the UN, the Consul General in New York, and Washington State officials. The main question for everyone is: why was the furthest point of the US territory chosen to open a mission?
According to Ahror Burhonov, this city is a major economic hub. Offices of Microsoft, Amazon, Google, and several other companies are located here. The state has positive results in IT, mechanical engineering, aviation, medicine, and manufacturing. In addition, no one on this side of the US knows about Uzbekistan, which is why promotion is important.
“When we arrived, we raised the question of whether Seattle itself was ready for us to open a mission. To be honest, nine out of ten people who participated in the survey did not know Uzbekistan. We thought that we need to promote the country on this side of America,” says the Consul General.
The diplomat added that he came primarily with the task of protecting and assisting citizens of Uzbekistan. In addition, relations have been established with major companies in artificial intelligence, robotics, and manufacturing. The process of organizing a visit of the Washington State trade delegation is currently underway. Negotiations are also taking place with US companies on exporting Uzbek products.
So, who will the consulate serve? According to the Consul General, the mission in Seattle is responsible for four states — Washington, Montana, Idaho, and Oregon.
Ahror Burhonov also spoke about the leasing of the mission's building, saying that the space on the 39th floor was obtained three times cheaper thanks to diplomacy.
“This building also belongs to the person who built 30% of the city. We found him specifically and tried to introduce Uzbekistan to him. We reminded him that it is a sister city, and then the rent price dropped threefold,” he says.