Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- On 1 November 2019, the Cotton Campaign international coalition issued a statement on the results of the meeting with the delegation of the Republic of Uzbekistan led by the Minister of Investments and Foreign Trade Sardor Umurzakov, the Foreign Ministry reports.

According to the information of the Embassy of our country in the USA, the main subject of negotiations was the development of further mechanisms for interaction with the coalition regarding textile products in Uzbekistan.

In a published statement, Cotton Campaign welcomes the Uzbek government’s commitment to ending long-standing forced labor practices, as well as ambitious efforts to implement the Action Plan (Roadmap) aimed at achieving the three main goals recommended by the coalition: “ending systemic forced labor, carrying out structural reforms and empowering civil society. ”

As the American side notes, this meeting is based on the established successful practice of interaction between the Cotton Campaign and the Government of Uzbekistan.

Cotton Campaign members are encouraged by the delegation’s determination to discuss cases of harassment of activists and journalists identified during the current cotton picking season, and look forward to taking concrete steps to stop such actions against activists.

As stated by the Cotton Campaign, some reforms will take time to start, significant progress can be made during the current cotton campaign.

Following the meeting, the parties agreed to continue consultations on the issues raised.