The key facts

  • On October 19, a 'C5+1' meeting will be held in Samarkand with the participation of the foreign ministries of five Central Asian countries and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio
  • The same day will host the first round of the Dialogue on Expanded Strategic Partnership between Uzbekistan and the United States
  • Data on the size of the business delegation differ: special envoy Sergio Gor spoke of more than 100 companies, while the State Department mentioned more than 200 business leaders

'C5+1' meeting in Samarkand

On October 19, Samarkand will host a meeting of the heads of foreign affairs ministries of Central Asian countries and the United States in the 'C5+1' format. This was announced by the press secretary of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Uzbekistan, Omonulla Faiziev. The meeting will be attended by the foreign ministers of Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan, as well as US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

Dialogue on strategic partnership

On the same day, the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Uzbekistan, Bakhtiyor Saidov, and Marco Rubio will hold the first round of the Dialogue on Expanded Strategic Partnership between the two countries. The parties will discuss deepening strategic partnership, expanding political, trade, economic and investment cooperation, as well as regional and international issues. In addition, meetings with the participation of representatives of business circles of the United States and Central Asian countries are planned.

Business delegation and focus of the meeting

Gazeta wrote about Rubio's upcoming visit in September: at that time, the special envoy of the US President for South and Central Asia, Sergio Gor, said that the Secretary of State would lead a delegation of representatives of more than 100 American companies. According to Gor, the main focus of the 'C5+1' meeting is planned to be on deepening regional economic ties, strengthening energy security and joint solutions to pressing issues of the region. This week, the US State Department stated that Rubio would lead a trade delegation of more than 200 business leaders, which, according to the department's wording, would open 'a new era of strengthened trade cooperation between the United States and Central Asia.' Thus, the data on the size of the delegation differ across publications.