Azernews.Az

In June or July of this year,

The NATO Liaison Officer's regional office will move to the capital of Uzbekistan, Tashkent in June or July due to a regional rotation policy laid out in the contract with the government of Uzbekistan, according to a number of online publications referring to NATO representatives.

Uzbekistan has not commented on the relocation of the NATO Liaison Officer's office.

Previously, the office was located in Astana, Kazakhstan where it coordinated all activities of the alliance in Central Asia.

According to the report, the office will have the status of "diplomatic mission". It will be headed by a citizen of one of the NATO member-countries, who will be assisted by a small staff.

At the initial stage, the NATO office in Tashkent will undertake the coordination of all stakeholders under the planned phased withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan as well as the export of arms and army property.

Along with working with the governments of NATO partner countries (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan) with the aim of strengthening long-term bilateral cooperation, the NATO Liaison Officer will also provide support for initiatives of the Alliance for Public Diplomacy as well as provide coordination with international players in the region.

Uzbekistan joined NATO's Partnership for Peace Program in July 1994. Since 1996, Uzbekistan has been cooperating with NATO in the framework of annual individual partnership programs developed for the training of military personnel and peacekeeping battalion.