Sambo Association of Uzbekistan President Alisher Alimov was guest of honour at the Championships, attended by more than 80 athletes from across the United States at Drew University.

Athletes from Uzbekistan were joined by representatives of Georgia and Kyrgyzstan in the open tournament.

The MoU was signed at the USA Sambo office, attended by its first vice-president Mikhail Kozitsky, Executive Committee member Eric Reis and Alimov from the Uzbek side.

"As part of this friendly visit, we were able to discuss a number of issues on the possibilities of joint work and interaction in various areas for the development of sambo," Kozitsky said.

"The result of such agreements was the signing of a memorandum on bilateral cooperation, mutual assistance and the development of sambo in our countries."

Kozitsky welcomed the opportunity for American athletes to "test their strength in bouts with representatives of other countries" at the National Championships, and stressed the importance of the competition for the "promotion and development" of sambo in the US.

A referee seminar was also held in New York before the start of the Championships, guided by Mikhail Zhidelev.

Kozitsky said that the seminar had "identified a pool of specialists to work at national level competitions, and also a candidate was selected to participate in the international referee seminar in Israel".

Uzbekistan won one silver and four bronze medals at last year's World Sambo Championships in Bishkek, while the US failed to medal.