During his visit to Israel, Secretary of State Baker discussed the idea of joint Israel- U.S. technical assistance to five republics in Central Asia that were once part of the Soviet Union. These republics have established diplomatic ties with Israel and were seeking aid from Israel and through Israel from other powers. Israel was able to persuade the United States of the importance of this project, which was also seen as an attempt to check the spread of radical Islamic fundamentalism from Iran into the mainly Moslem republics of Central Asia. Israel also took into account the existence of Jewish communities in these republics, many of whom were immigrating to Israel. Text:
The United States and Israel agreed, on July 28, to begin a program to provide joint technical assistance to the five Central Asian states of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, and Tadjikistan.
This joint initiative follows Secretary Baker's announcement at the Lisbon coordinating conference this past May that the United States and Israel were discussing ways to provide joint assistance.
Ambassador Richard Armitage [Deputy to the Coordinator for U.S. Assistance to the New Independent States] has spent the last several days in Israel discussing priorities with the Minister of Foreign Affairs and with the experts from a variety of Israeli technical and academic institutions.
Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres and Ambassador Armitage have agreed to form a joint advance team which, subject to agreements or formal invitations from the five Central Asian governments, will visit those countries to define potential projects. Many of these governments have given informal assurances that this joint effort would be welcome, in addition to bilateral U.S. technical assistance projects.
Israeli efforts will concentrate on the agricultural sectors of the five economies and may also focus on public health programs.
The U.S. Government intends to provide some funding to facilitate Israeli technical assistance in Central Asia and will work closely with Israel in the design and approval of specific projects.