At Monday's Samarkand talks, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio made transport links and critical-mineral supply chains central to Washington's effort to deepen economic ties with Central Asia, Anadolu Ajansı reported.
Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan joined the United States in the C5+1 ministerial format. Rubio said Washington aimed to improve infrastructure on the Trans-Caspian trade route and help regional partners reach customers in the United States and across Central Asia. He described the region's position between Europe and Asia as an advantage for international commerce. Trade, investment and energy were areas where the United States wanted closer cooperation, he said.
Rubio also called for connected supply chains for critical minerals and a training program to prepare thousands of young professionals to work with advanced U.S. technologies. He linked the mineral effort to Washington's aim of reducing reliance on overseas partners it regards as unreliable. He said the United States wanted Central Asian countries to prosper as independent states.
The commercial agenda follows earlier Samarkand discussions on mineral cooperation, where Rubio pointed to billions of dollars in possible regional deals.
Rubio said last year's White House C5+1 summit produced new deals worth $25 billion across transport, energy and finance. He said the Samarkand meetings were intended to carry those efforts forward.
Rubio said the United States was not asking Uzbekistan to choose between Washington, Moscow and Beijing. He said American companies wanted fair competition and wider market access, and that Washington would not dictate the country's trading partners.
Rubio was scheduled to attend the second meeting of the U.S.-Uzbekistan Business and Investment Council. He said Washington would work in 2027 to identify possible dates for President Donald Trump's visit to Uzbekistan. Kazakhstan's Foreign Ministry said Rubio discussed visiting the country after a Dec. 14-15 G20 meeting planned for Doral, Florida.
