4 november. President Islam Karimov received the US Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. They discussed the military-political situation in the region, in particular in Afghanistan and the anti-terrorist operation there. They discussed military-technical cooperation between Uzbekistan and the US.   29 november. President Islam Karimov visited Moscow to participate in the meeting of CIS heads of state. The meeting discussed the results of the first decade of the CIS and its future work.

  
“The main aim of the creation of the CIS was to develop mutual economic ties, create free trade zones, coordinate laws concerning borders and customs, and ways to resolve such problems,” said the President in an interview with journalists before his departure. “However, some states considered these questions of secondary importance, giving cooperation another meaning, and creating a military-political group. As a result, some CIS documents were not acted on. Many unnecessary councils were created which actually harmed the authority of the CIS. If everything had been organized from the start on the basis of economics, political and social questions would have found their resolution.”  

27 december. At the invitation of President Islam Karimov Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbaev, Kirgiz President Askar Akaev and Tajik President Emomali Rakhmonov arrived in Tashkent.  

Central Asia finds itself at the center of world attention due to the events in Afghanistan, which became a source of terrorism, narcotics, and extremism, and is today freeing itself of these evils. The importance of the farsighted policies of the President of Uzbekistan in this respect is highly appreciated not only to guarantee security in Central Asia, but the whole world.  

Tashkent has become a genuine world city, with important meetings to guarantee peace, friendship and cooperation. Uzbekistan has become a unique center for actions for peace and progress in Central Asia.