Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- On 7 December 2020, the US Department of State issued an official statement, according to which Secretary of State Michael Pompeo removed Uzbekistan from the so-called "Special Watchlist" in the field of religious freedoms, thereby recognizing the significant progress of the republic in ensuring freedom of religion.

According to the press service of the Foreign Ministry, Uzbekistan is now qualified as a country in which freedom of religion is fully ensured.

It is deeply symbolic that the State Department’s decision coincided with the celebration of Constitution Day, the 28th anniversary of the adoption of the fundamental law. This was a recognition of the deep democratic reforms initiated by President Shavkat Mirziyoyev aimed at ensuring the rights and freedoms of citizens, as well as strengthening interethnic and interfaith harmony in the country.

In his statement, Michael Pompeo noted that Uzbekistan has been removed from the "Special Watchlist" on the basis of "significant, concrete progress" made by the republic’s government over the past year.

Sam Brownback, the US Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom, believes that the Secretary of State’s decision is the result of unwavering commitment, hard work, changes and reforms in the area of religious freedom, carried out directly under the leadership of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev.