2009 Programs And Events
Ambassador Visits Ferghana and Namangan Regions (06/16/2009)
U.S. Ambassador Richard Norland met with beekeepers, farmers, carpet makers, potters and workers in a silk factory during a visit to the Ferghana and Namangan provinces of the Ferghana Valley.
The Ambassador, his wife Mary Hartnett, and Dr. Philippa Strum, a visiting senior scholar from the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, also drove through the mountains to visit the Shakhimardan enclave of Uzbekistan, a historic region of mostly Uzbek speakers surrounded by the territory of Kyrgyzstan.
On June 15, the Ambassador toured the Khudoyar Khan Palace and museum in Kokand, the seat of power in the Khanate of Kokand in the 18th and 19th centuries. He later visited the workshop of renowned potter Rustam Usmanov in Rishtan.
The visit to Shakhimardan was a highlight of the trip, with the beautiful mountain scenery and the hospitality extended to the American group by representatives of the Hokimiyat (Governor’s office) of Ferghana and local officials in Shakhimardan, said Carrie Lee, the Cultural Affairs Officer at the U.S. Embassy in Tashkent.
On June 16, the Ambassador’s group toured the Yodgorlik silk factory in Margilon, whose factory manager, Yusufjon Mamayusupov, participated in the U.S. State Department’s International Visitors Leadership Program in the United States. His program focused on Small Business Development.
The group also met with members of the Ferghana Region Association of Beekeepers. Several of the association’s members participated in a professional exchange program in 2008 sponsored by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), in which they spent three weeks in the U.S. building relationships with American beekeepers and others involved in agriculture.
In the Pap District of Namangan, the Ambassador met with members of the Shirinsuv Yangier (“Sweet Water, New Land”) Water Users Association. Shirinsuv Yangier has received support through USAID’s Water Users Association Support Project and AgLinks, which has provided information on agricultural practices, sought to improve access to markets and helped create a demonstration plot for grape production.
The economies of both Namangan and Ferghana provinces rely heavily on light industry and agriculture, including cotton, fruit and silk production. Much of the agriculture is dependent on intensive irrigation.
En route to the Pap District, the group stopped in the historic town of Chust to visit its lovely central park and examine the famous knives produced there.
With the tour of Namangan and Ferghana provinces, Ambassador Norland has formally visited all 14 of Uzbekistan’s administrative divisions.