USAupdated 1h ago2 min read
Marco Rubio Lands in Samarkand To Lead C5+1 Talks With Uzbekistan and Central Asia
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Rubio arrived in Samarkand to lead C5+1 talks with Uzbekistan and four Central Asian countries. Accompanied by a delegation of over 200 American business representatives.
Rubio lands in Samarkand
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio landed in Samarkand, Uzbekistan on Sunday evening to begin a tour that includes Central Asia and India, and the trip is framed as his first stop in a broader effort to strengthen trade ties and counter Russia and China’s influence. Rubio arrived at the head of a delegation of more than 200 business leaders to attend a ministerial meeting of the C5+1 group, which includes the United States and the Muslim-majority states that were part of the Soviet Union: Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan.
Uzbek Foreign Minister بختيار سعيدوف greeted Rubio with a warm embrace after Rubio stressed the “important relationship” of the United States with the region before departing Washington on Saturday evening. Sergio Gor, the president Donald Trump’s special envoy for Central and South Asia, organized the trade delegation of 200 businessmen under the auspices of the United States ambassador to India, according to reporting that ties the trip’s aim to strengthening US presence in a resource-rich region where it competes with China.
C5+1 talks and US rationale
Rubio prepared talks with senior officials from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and the Uzbek hosts after arriving in Samarkand to address diplomatic and commercial issues and respond to China’s growing presence in the region. Rubio told reporters before his departure that “This is an important relationship,” and he added, “There are countries you’d like to get to because we want to build our relationships with them.”
A senior State Department official said the tour demonstrated US goodwill toward the “deepening partnership across Central Asia,” especially in the energy sector, while another senior US official described the trip as “an incredible opportunity to bring the United States into a region of the world that is vitally important.” Rubio’s schedule also included a ministerial meeting in the C5+1 format and bilateral meetings with senior officials from the five countries, with the discussions focusing on increasing trade, investment, transportation infrastructure, energy, and cooperation in the exploitation of strategic minerals.
Business, security, and next stops
Rubio’s Central Asia agenda paired diplomacy with commerce, and the US State Department said he traveled with more than 200 American business representatives, with the trip expected to translate into concrete economic and security cooperation. The delegation included representatives from Boeing, Citibank, and Franklin Templeton, and the State Department briefing also described participation from the US International Development Finance Corporation, the Export-Import Bank of the United States, the National Security Council, and the State Department.
Rubio’s trip was set against ongoing US foreign policy demands, and Reuters reporting said the Iran war smolders while a new rift opens in US-Ukraine relations even as Rubio traveled to Uzbekistan to meet with top officials from the C5+1 grouping. After Uzbekistan, Rubio was scheduled to travel to India, with reporting naming Mumbai and Jamnagar in Gujarat state as stops to meet business leaders, and reporting also said the trip was expected to conclude on Thursday, October 22, 2026.