Marco Rubio.
Photo: US Department of State / Freddie Everett
US secretary of state Marco Rubio will attend a meeting of Central Asian foreign ministers in Samarkand on 19 October. On the same day, he and Uzbekistan’s foreign minister Bakhtiyor Saidov will hold the first round of the Strategic Partnership Dialogue between the two countries.
A meeting of the heads of foreign ministers of Central Asian countries and the United States under the C5+1 format will take place in Samarkand on 19 October, press secretary for the foreign minister of Uzbekistan Omonulla Fayziyev announced.
The meeting will bring together foreign ministers of Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and the US secretary of state Marco Rubio.
On the same day, Uzbekistan’s foreign minister Bakhtiyor Saidov and Rubio will hold the first round of the Enhanced Strategic Partnership Dialogue between the two countries.
The sides will discuss ways to deepen their strategic partnership, expanding political, trade, economic and investment cooperation, as well as regional and international issues.
In addition, meetings involving representatives of the business communities of the United States and Central Asian countries are also planned.
This week, the US Department of State said Rubio would lead a US commercial delegation comprised of over 200 business leaders, “ushering in a new era of strengthened commercial cooperation for the United States and Central Asia”.
