Rubio sets $100bn trade-and-investment ambition for Central Asia at Samarkand C5+1 talks

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Monday that Washington would pursue more than $100 billion in additional trade and investment with Central Asia, setting the ambition as he met Uzbekistan’s Foreign Minister Bakhtiyor Saidov in Samarkand ahead of a C5+1 ministerial with the region’s five foreign ministers.

In his public opening statement, Rubio said the United States and Central Asian countries had already secured more than $25 billion in commercial arrangements and deals since the November 2025 C5+1 presidential summit in Washington, hosted by President Donald Trump. He gave no timetable or country-by-country breakdown for the larger figure, according to Diplomatic Watch.

“The United States wants to be a strong partner in Central Asia,” Rubio told reporters. “Central Asia has just not gotten the level of attention from our policymakers over the last 20 years that it deserves. But that’s changing. That’s why we’re here now,” the Associated Press reported.

Rubio was joined in Samarkand by a trade delegation representing almost 300 American businesses, which he described as an “incredible delegation”. Speaking to Euronews during the visit, he said US companies “will have some concrete deals to announce”, adding: “This is not the end. This is the beginning.”

He identified transport infrastructure, regulatory alignment, workforce development and the use of advanced technology considered trustworthy by the United States as priorities for deeper engagement, describing the region as important to US national security and economic prosperity. Critical minerals were a further focus: “It’s not smart just for the whole world to depend on one place for 100% of anything,” he told Euronews, framing supply-chain diversification as an international priority.

As concrete examples of commercial cooperation, Rubio cited Uzbekistan Airways’ order for 22 Boeing Dreamliners and Uzbek firm AKFA Aluminum Solutions’ $80 million manufacturing project in Kentucky, which state officials say is expected to create 331 jobs.

Saidov said political dialogue had grown more active and that Uzbekistan was committed to a lasting partnership with the United States. Rubio’s schedule also includes a document-signing ceremony, talks with Kazakhstan’s Foreign Minister Mukhtar Tileuberdi, and a meeting with President Shavkat Mirziyoyev.

The C5+1 format links the United States with Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan, and began in Samarkand in November 2015. After the Central Asia leg, Rubio travels to Mumbai and Jamnagar in India to meet business leaders, Reuters reported; the trip is due to wrap up on 22 October.

Sources

• Diplomatic Watch — Rubio Sets Out Central Asia Trade Ambitions in Talks With Uzbekistan
• Associated Press via Bastille Post — Rubio is in Uzbekistan to promote US ties and trade with Central Asia
• The Manila Times — Rubio seeks to strengthen US foothold in Central Asia
• Daily Guardian Europe — US is coming to Central Asia with deals to stay, Rubio tells Euronews
• Reuters via The Straits Times — Rubio arrives in Central Asia while other US officials hit foreign policy hot spots