WASHINGTON — President Trump welcomed President Shavkat Mirziyoyev of Uzbekistan to the White House on Wednesday, calling the visit a “great honor” as he worked to begin what aides described as a new era of partnership with a country that is making its first fitful turns away from authoritarianism.

Senior administration officials had said Mr. Trump planned to prod Mr. Mirziyoyev on lingering issues of human rights and press freedom during their meeting, but in public on Wednesday there was no hint of criticism or question in his remarks.

“He’s a highly respected man in his country,” Mr. Trump said of Mr. Mirziyoyev as the two sat in the Oval Office. “We’ve been working very closely together on different things, including trade.”

Mr. Trump has rarely brought up human rights concerns either in public or in private during his face-to-face encounters with foreign leaders — a break with past American presidents of both parties who routinely raised the issue — even when his aides have said he planned to. He and his advisers view the issue as an impediment to trade and a barrier to warmer relations between the United States and potential strategic partners.