President Reuven Rivlin has sent condolences to the people of Uzbekistan, following the weekend passing of President Islam Karimov. Noting that Karimov had led the country all the years of its independence, Rivlin wrote, "We in Israel are very pleased with the good relations between our two countries and the cooperation between our two nations in a number of areas. We look forward to continuing to expand and to further enhance the good relations with Uzbekistan in the future."
Rivlin continued, "There have been strong Jewish communities in Uzbekistan for thousands of years and our two nations share a rich cultural history. We are proud of the many thousands of Israelis who immigrated here from Uzbekistan from such regions as Samarkand and Bukhara."