TASHKENT, Uzbekistan, Jan. 18 (UPI) -- Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D., said Friday the United States has a long-term commitment to Uzbekistan.
"We believe that our country will recognize that our presence and relationship with the people of Uzbekistan and the countries in the region is not simply in the immediate term," Daschle said at a news conference in Tashkent.
Uzbekistan has been a key U.S. ally in its war on terrorism and has granted Washington the Khanabad Air Base for its anti-terror campaign in Afghanistan.
Daschle's visit to the region was part of a six-day Central Asian tour that also took him to Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan and Afghanistan.
In Uzbekistan, a former Soviet republic, Daschle met with President Islam Karimov and Foreign Minister Abdulaziz Kamilov. He said the talks focused on the human-rights situation in the country.
"We emphasized the importance of the United States, its place in economic and political reforms and concern for human rights, basic rights for all the people who live in Uzbekistan," he said.
Human-rights groups have accused Karimov's government of widespread violations.
Daschle also spoke of the U.S. role in rebuilding Afghanistan.
"While our effort began as a war against terrorism, it continues now as an effort to rebuild this country," he said in Kabul on Wednesday.
"Our country needs to be here for the long haul," he said.
International agencies estimate Afghanistan needs about $15 billion over the next 10 years to rebuild. Afghan officials estimate their needs are between $22 billion and $45 billion over the next decade.
An international donors' conference on rebuilding Afghanistan in scheduled to be held in Tokyo next week.
