From left to right: Mr. Nelson Galindo, Director of Education, Manhattan Extension; Dr. Alexander Agafonov, Senior Vice President of Academic Affairs; Mr. Osman Oztoprak, Chairman, Turkish Cultural Center of New York; New York State Assemblymember Steven Cymbrowitz; and Mr. Roberto Dumaual, Vice President of Government and Community Relations.

Brooklyn, New York (2/09/10) – ASA President Alex Shchegol today announced that the institution has reached an agreement with officials from Uzbekistan to cooperate on a broad range of initiatives, including the possible opening of an ASA branch in Tashkent, the state’s capital.

“This is truly a historic day for ASA,” Mr. Shchegol said. We are very excited to form a partnership with the government of another country to provide ASA’s brand of education overseas. The agreement came after several meetings with Uzbekistan officials notably with Dr. Alisher Shaykhov, Ambassador and Chairman of Uzbekistan’s Chamber of Commerce and business leaders of Uzbekistan based in the U.S. led by Mr. Yakov Tsinkler who in 2009 visited ASA’s Manhattan location and agreed to support any joint initiative between ASA and educational or government institutions in Uzbekistan. In January 2010, ASA administrators, led by Robert Faynblut, met with Ambassador Murad Askarov, Permanent Representative of Uzbekistan to the United Nations, to gain additional support for the agreement.

Dr. Alexander Agafonov, ASA Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs, who signed the agreement with Uzbekistan on behalf of ASA, said that these foreign initiatives will only strengthen the institution. In 2009, ASA also started working with institutions in Rostov, Russia and Taipei, Republic of China. Early this year, Mr. Osman Oztoprak, Director of the Turkish Cultural Center in New York was also a guest at ASA’s Manhattan location and during the visit, he and ASA officials also discussed ways to cooperate.

“ASA is committed to provide the highest quality of education anywhere around the world,” Mr. Shchegol said. “Students in Uzbekistan can expect nothing less.”