Uzbekistan and the United States on Wednesday held a session of the annual bilateral political consultations here and signed two memorandums expanding cooperation in the energy and education sectors, the U.S. embassy in Tashkent said in a statement.

Bilateral talks were led by Uzbek Foreign Minister Abdulaziz Kamilov and the visiting U.S. Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asia Alice Wells.

U.S. assistance to Uzbekistan grew to approximately 28.1 million U.S. dollars in fiscal year 2018, from 10.1 million dollars in fiscal year 2016, according to the U.S. Embassy in Tashkent.

The two sides decided to hold the next round of annual bilateral consultations in Washington in 2020.