Uzbekistan, prompted by unrest in northern Afghanistan, with which it shares a nearly 140-kilometer border, has expanded its relationship with NATO. In July 2015, NATO opened a new English language training course for Uzbek officers. As many as 15 competitively selected Uzbek officer candidates underwent a six-month pilot program focusing on military terminology.
The NATO liaison officer in Central Asia, Alexander Vinnikov, told local media: “This program, based on the successful experience of a similar initiative launched by our office earlier this year in Kyrgyz Republic, aims to raise Uzbek officers’ level of military English with a view to increasing the country’s participation in NATO Partnership Cooperation.”
Uzbek-NATO cooperation has steadily increased in recent years and reached new highs in 2013 when, according to Silk Road Reporters, “Uzbekistan agreed to its first Individual Partnership Cooperation Program with NATO and opened the Office of the NATO Liaison Officer in Tashkent, responsible for all of post-Soviet Central Asia.” A Defense Education and Enhancement Program has also been established with Uzbekistan, and a NATO Depository Library was opened at the University of World Economy and Diplomacy in Tashkent in August 2015.