Samarkand, 19 October. Kazakh Foreign Minister Mukhtar Tleuberdi met US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Samarkand; the two sides reaffirmed their course towards strengthening the enhanced strategic partnership, and Rubio confirmed his interest in paying a full-scale visit to Kazakhstan shortly after the G20 summit, the Kazakh Foreign Ministry said (Atameken Business, Sputnik Казахстан).
The meeting took place on the sidelines of the C5+1 ministerial, which on 19 October brought together in Samarkand the heads of the foreign ministries of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan and the US Secretary of State. It is Rubio's first trip to Central Asia (Ulysmedia).
The main theme of the visit is the economy. Touring Registan Square with Saida Mirziyoyeva, head of the Uzbek Presidential Administration, Rubio told reporters that Washington expects agreements worth billions of dollars and that representatives of nearly 300 American companies had come to Samarkand (Asia-Plus, Kursiv Узбекистан). Asia-Plus applies these expectations to all the countries of the region, while Kursiv links them to the outcome of the US-Uzbek talks; which documents will be signed has not yet been disclosed (Asia-Plus).
Rubio described the benefits of the future agreements as mutual: in his words, they should bring economic gains both to the countries of the region and to the United States (Asia-Plus). "Most importantly, our relations are developing not on the basis of problems or contradictions, but thanks to the opportunities that are opening up," he said of relations with Uzbekistan (Kursiv Узбекистан).
Background: C5+1 is a diplomatic platform of the United States and the five Central Asian states; the first ministerial meeting in the region was held in Samarkand in November 2015, and in November 2025 Donald Trump hosted the presidents of the five countries at the White House (The Times of Central Asia). The Kazakh Foreign Ministry gives no date for Rubio's visit: the statement says only that the trip is possible shortly after the G20 summit (Atameken Business).
List of sources used: Atameken Business, Sputnik Казахстан, Ulysmedia, Asia-Plus, Kursiv Узбекистан, The Times of Central Asia
Artificial intelligence was used in preparing this material.
