The Seattle-Tashkent Sister City Association (STSCA), a non-profit 501(c)(3) citizen-diplomacy organization, was founded in 1973 by Seattle City Council Resolution no. 23992, which adopted Tashkent, Soviet Union (now Uzbekistan), as a sister city of Seattle, WA. Seattle was the first American city to establish a sister city relationship with a Soviet city. The Seattle-Tashkent Sister City Association operates under the auspices of Sister Cities International, whose goal is to promote education, cultural, and trade exchanges, and to raise the public’s awareness and understanding of cities around the world. Seattle Mayor Wes Uhlman led a delegation of Seattle-Tashkent Sister City Committee members to Tashkent in 1973. In 1974, Mayor Vahid Kazimov of Tashkent visited Seattle with a delegation and dedicated Seattle’s Tashkent Park.

Despite the tense relations between the U.S and the Soviet Union during the Cold War, Seattle and Tashkent maintained and continues to maintain a friendly and close relationship. STSCA promotes citizen diplomacy and humanitarian assistance through a variety of citizen exchanges and programs in fields such as art, theater, engineering, journalism, health care and medical relief, and through the University of Washington/Tashkent State University Exchanges. Exchanges have also included official visits by mayors, deputy mayors and city council members. STSCA continues to spread an appreciation of Uzbek culture in the U.S. and U.S. culture in Uzbekistan and foster international understanding and goodwill.