At the beginning of the meeting, Amb.Javlon Vakhabov, Managing Director of the IICA congratulated Dr.Steven L.Solnick on his appointment as an Executive Director of the Davis Center and expressed emphasized the intention to further develop the collaboration.

In turn, Dr.Solnick highlighted the active development of expert engagement with the IICA in 2025, including the productive meeting of Amb.Vakhabov at the Davis Center in Cambridge, Massachusetts (USA), as well as the visit of the Center’s delegation to Uzbekistan, during which substantive contacts took place at the IICA and other leading research institutions in the country.

According to Dr.Solnick, an additional momentum for the development of the partnership was provided by the Inagural U.S.–Central Asia Think Tank Forum held at the IICA in October 2025.

Dr.Solnick also highly appreciated the current state of U.S.–Uzbekistan cooperation within scholarly research. He emphasized the importance of deepening engagement in key areas, including the convening of conferences, seminars, and roundtables, as well as expert exchanges and the co-authorship of scholarly publications.

The meeting concluded with the signing of a Letter of Cooperation between the IICA and the Davis Center, establishing a formal framework for academic and expert-level engagement.

Founded at Harvard University in 1948, the Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies is one of the United States’ leading academic institutions dedicated to the comprehensive study of Russia, Eurasia, and the broader regional neighborhood.

The Center serves as a premier interdisciplinary platform for research and policy development, bringing together scholars, analysts, and practitioners within a collaborative and rigorous intellectual environment.