U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrived in Samarkand on October 18 for talks with the foreign ministers of the five Central Asian countries, as Washington seeks to strengthen ties with the region.
Rubio was welcomed by Saida Mirziyoyeva, head of the Presidential Administration of Uzbekistan, a Daryo correspondent reported.
The visit will bring together the foreign ministers of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan to discuss regional cooperation and relations with the U.S.
Rubio is accompanied by more than 200 business representatives, according to earlier reports. He has described all five Central Asian countries as important partners for Washington.
Speaking ahead of the trip, Rubio explained that the visit is intended to strengthen relations rather than respond to a specific crisis.
“You’re always visiting someplace where there’s a crisis or there’s a problem or there’s a – you’re going because there’s a conference. But there’s countries you’d like to get to because we want to build our relationships with them,” he said.
He cited recent visits to Greece and Latin America as examples of Washington’s efforts to build relationships with international partners.
Rubio also noted that the timing of the trip offered an opportunity to bring together the foreign ministers of all five Central Asian countries.
Following his visit to Uzbekistan, the U.S. secretary of state is expected to travel to the Indian cities of Mumbai and Jamnagar.