The United States and Uzbekistan signed 54 trade, investment and technology agreements worth a combined $12 billion (about 15.92 trillion won) during a visit to the Central Asian country by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Uzbekistan's Ministry of Investment, Industry and Trade said the agreements were signed at a business event held to coincide with the U.S. delegation's visit, according to Russian state news agency RIA Novosti on the 20th, local time.
The agreements target the modernization of industrial, transport and energy infrastructure, along with development in critical mineral resources, finance and digital technology.
About 200 executives from U.S. companies attended a bilateral business and investment council meeting and forum in Samarkand the previous day, where individual corporate agreements were also concluded. GE Aerospace, the U.S. defense and aviation company, is set to supply engines for new aircraft to Uzbekistan Airways, the country's largest carrier. Wabtec, which specializes in rail equipment and technology, agreed to supply locomotives, build maintenance systems, produce components and support workforce training.
In mining, Uzbekistan will cooperate with U.S. firms including ReElement Technologies. The ministry said the agreements cover "technological cooperation including mine exploration and development, as well as the supply of mineral resources."
The U.S. delegation arrived in Uzbekistan with Rubio on the 18th. In Samarkand, Rubio held "C5+1" talks with the foreign ministers of five Central Asian countries including Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, and also held separate bilateral meetings with the foreign ministers of Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan.
The U.S. administration has focused mainly on securing critical minerals and expanding market access for American companies in Central Asia, a resource-rich region of geopolitical importance wedged between Russia, China and Iran.
"The United States has long focused on the Middle East and East Asia, and Central Asia, which lies in between, has not received the attention it deserves," Rubio said. "Nothing strengthens a relationship more than shared prosperity."
Rubio will travel directly to India after completing his schedule in Uzbekistan. He is scheduled to visit Mumbai in the western state of Maharashtra and Jamnagar in Gujarat in turn, discussing energy cooperation through the 22nd.