U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio will travel to Uzbekistan this weekend for talks with the five Central Asian countries, as the Trump administration seeks to strengthen trade ties and expand Washington’s strategic presence in the region.
Rubio will attend a ministerial meeting in Samarkand from October 17 to 20 under the C5+1 format, which brings together the United States and Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. He will also hold bilateral meetings with senior officials from all five countries and lead a business delegation of more than 200 executives, the U.S. State Department announced on October 13.
The visit comes as the United States shows growing interest in Central Asia’s critical minerals, energy resources and transport corridors, while governments across the region seek to diversify their partnerships and reduce dependence on traditional powers.
“This unprecedented engagement between the United States and Central Asian countries, and this visit, would be the first step toward that goal,” said Ken Moriyasu, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute, in comments to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL).
“Central Asian countries are not particularly happy with the idea of replacing Russian dominance with Chinese dominance,” he said, explaining why regional capitals are moving closer to Washington and European partners.
Russia’s war against Ukraine has diverted Moscow’s attention and resources away from the region, creating opportunities for other powers to deepen their ties with Central Asia.
Meanwhile, China has expanded its presence through trade, infrastructure investment and its flagship Belt and Road Initiative.
“The Trump administration is focused primarily on its own interests, America’s interests and global competition with China,” said Ariel Cohen, a nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council and managing director of the Energy, Growth and Security Program at the International Tax and Investment Center.
“Clearly, China is the dominant economic partner, while Russia continues to provide many security-related ties. But the United States is not retreating or abandoning this space,” Cohen added.
Strengthening economic and diplomatic ties could help Washington secure supply chains, expand trade opportunities and prevent any single power from gaining overwhelming influence across the region.
The planned delegation of more than 200 business executives underscores the administration’s emphasis on commercial diplomacy, analysts said. Washington hopes closer engagement will lead to investments and business agreements across a range of sectors.
“We have already made tremendous progress in strengthening our relationships with Central Asian countries, and we need to continue expanding these partnerships by removing outdated Soviet-era trade restrictions known as Jackson-Vanik,” Republican Senator Steve Daines told RFE/RL.
He was referring to legislation that denies certain current and former non-market economies normal trade relations status unless they meet requirements concerning freedom of emigration.
Critical minerals are an important part of this strategic picture, but Central Asia’s value also stems from its geographic position between China, Russia, South Asia and Europe. Transport routes connecting the region to international markets have gained importance as governments seek alternatives to routes passing through Russia.
Moriyasu highlighted the Middle Corridor, which connects Central Asia to Europe through the Caspian Sea and the South Caucasus, as part of the broader strategic opportunities. A stronger presence of American companies along these routes could help establish lasting U.S. economic interests in the region.
The success of the visit will depend on whether diplomatic momentum translates into concrete investment commitments and sustained commercial cooperation, or remains a high-profile meeting without lasting results.
Central Asia in the Spotlight
Hosting the meeting gives Uzbekistan an opportunity to strengthen relations with Washington while raising its profile as a regional diplomatic hub.
President Shavkat Mirziyoyev has repeatedly sought closer ties with the United States. According to information cited in the report, Washington has invited Mirziyoyev and Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to attend the G20 summit scheduled to take place in Miami in December.
The diplomatic engagement has fuelled speculation about a possible visit to Central Asia by U.S. President Donald Trump. Such a visit would be unprecedented for a sitting U.S. president and could give Washington more sustained access to the region’s leaders.
Laura Linderman, a senior fellow at the American Foreign Policy Council and director of programs at the Central Asia-Caucasus Institute, said Rubio’s participation in the C5+1 meeting was already a positive development.
She said expanding the format to include Azerbaijan, creating a C6+1 framework, could make cooperation more ambitious.
“The event would be considered an even greater success if the United States expanded the format to C6+1 and included Azerbaijan,” Linderman told RFE/RL.
A senior Wall Street executive travelling with Rubio’s delegation to Samarkand said that, during several decades of working with the region, he had never witnessed such strong interest from American businesses. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to communicate with the media.
“We know there are close personal relationships between members of the Trump administration and several Central Asian presidents. But the current interest in Uzbekistan and the other countries in the region goes beyond those relationships. It is both personal and institutional,” he told RFE/RL.
According to the executive, growing interest among American companies is also being driven by intensifying economic competition with China.
“American businesses have realised that if they do not expand their activities in the region, China will soon swallow everything up there. They want to compete with China globally and right next door to it, because the region borders China,” he said.
After Uzbekistan, Rubio will travel to Mumbai and Jamnagar in India for his second official visit to the country this year. He is expected to meet government officials and business leaders to discuss the U.S.-India strategic partnership, regional and global developments, energy cooperation and trade investment.
