Over the past eight months, the country’s authorities have hired two relations firms in the United States to turn their page in the recent history of repression. This was reported by the Foreignlobby information resource.
The researchers found that the lobbyists were first hired in November 2019 to support a three-day press tour for Western journalists. The goal was to promote Uzbekistan as an attractive destination for investment and tourism, and to popularize Uzbekistan’s current economic situation and political reform agenda. The services were paid to Frontier Consulting firm which is in New Jersey.
Washington-based PR company Xenophon Strategies has signed a contract with the Export Promotion Agency under the Ministry of Investment and Foreign Trade of Uzbekistan. This is confirmed by a document published by the US Department of Justice. The company will get $ 585,775 per year for distributing information materials to companies that may want to do business in Uzbekistan.
On May 10, XS paid German investor relations agency Cometis AG a fee of $ 6,055 for “work done only in Europe” that was “necessary to complete the contract.” The company, meanwhile, said it was paid $ 13,250 on May 1.
The Public Fund for Support and Development of National Mass Media also resorted to the services of lobbyists. In March, Washington-based firm Bridgeway Advocacy was hired to inform the public and private sector in the United States on its progress in promoting free speech and gender equality. Former Congressman John Tanner, a Democrat from Tennessee, receives $ 30,000 a month for this.
The Foundation is controlled by the eldest daughter of the President of Uzbekistan, Saida Mirziyoyeva. According to Foreignlobby, the nongovernmental organization formally pays lobbyists $ 30,000 a month, including Congressmen Kelly and Gonzalez.
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