US Secretary of State Marco Rubio met the foreign ministers of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan in Samarkand on October 19 under the C5+1 format, which brings Washington together with the five Central Asian republics, Harava News reported. Rubio also met Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev and attended a US-Uzbekistan Business and Investment Council event. Uzbekistan announced 54 agreements and proposed initiatives with US partners valued at nearly $12 billion — yaani about Rs 1.06 lakh crore — prepared, Mirziyoyev said, with input from 45 Uzbek ministries and agencies.

Source: Harava News

Rubio arrived in Samarkand on October 18 for his first visit to Central Asia, accompanied by more than 200 American business leaders, among them representatives of Boeing, Citibank and Franklin Templeton, The Diplomatic Insight reported, citing the US State Department. Asked before departure why he was making the trip while other crises compete for attention, Rubio called it an important relationship and said the timing allowed him to gather all five foreign ministers at once. Reported areas of cooperation include transport and energy infrastructure, critical minerals, finance, digital technology, agriculture, health care and education. During the visit, Uzbekistan also signed the Artemis Accords on peaceful space exploration, Harava News reported.

Source: The Diplomatic Insight

A region courted by Washington, Moscow and Beijing

In a joint statement, the six governments said they would work toward closer integration of regional economies, mineral processing and development of the Trans-Caspian trade route, Harava News reported. The Carnegie Endowment noted that Kazakhstan, the region's largest economy, is home to two-thirds of foreign investment in Central Asia and is the world's largest uranium producer, supplying more than a quarter of US uranium imports, while Uzbekistan is the region's most populous country and largest market. US-Uzbekistan goods trade more than doubled from $423 million in 2024 to about $1.05 billion in 2025, according to US Census Bureau figures cited by AnewZ — yaani the 2025 figure is about Rs 9,200 crore.

Carnegie also noted the hurdles: weak governance across the region makes Western investors wary, and limited connectivity makes moving goods in and out of the landlocked region costly, while the five governments now court many global partners, including neighbouring Russia and China. No sitting US president has ever visited Central Asia, and regional capitals hoped Rubio's trip was laying the groundwork for a presidential visit next year, Carnegie said.