On November 6, a summit of leaders of Central Asia and the United States in the “C5+1” format was held at the White House in Washington, D.C.
The event, chaired by the President of the United States Donald Trump, was attended by President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, President of Kyrgyzstan Sadyr Japarov, President of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon, President of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhamedov, and President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev.
Trump said that he was committed to making US relations with Central Asia “stronger than ever”.
Kazakhstan’s Tokayev noted that the C5+1 Summit marks the beginning of a truly new era of cooperation between Central Asia and the United States.
Tokayev reaffirmed Kazakhstan’s commitment to further strengthening its strategic partnership with the United States: “The United States is the largest investor, with over $100 billion dollars in our economy as its perpetuum mobile. Our trade turnover has doubled in recent years and is approaching $5 billion. We meet almost 25 percent of America’s uranium demand. Kazakhstan has become a home country for 600 American companies,” said the Kazakh leader.
Tokayev informed that during the current visit, deals worth over $17 billion were signed between companies of the two countries.
Overall, the potential of economic cooperation between Kazakhstan and the United States — spanning such key areas as energy, critical minerals, industry, transport, finance, artificial intelligence, and education — exceeds half a trillion dollars.
The President of Uzbekistan expressed appreciation to the President of the United States for organizing the “C5+1” summit and proposed a number of initiatives to further expand cooperation within the “C5+1” framework.
Mirziyoyev suggested to establish a permanently functioning Secretariat, which would be hosted on a rotational basis among the participating countries.
The importance of creating a ministerial-level Coordinating council on investment and trade was highlighted to ensure a systematic dialogue between government institutions, companies and financial institutions. The launch of the Central Asian Investment Partnership Fund was also noted to be relevant.
The President of Uzbekistan also expressed readiness for active collaboration with the United States in implementing major transport, communication and energy projects connecting Central Asia with the South Caucasus and Europe.
Mirziyoyev proposed to establish a Special Committee to effectively coordinate efforts in the field of exploration, extraction, and deep processing of critical minerals, as well as the promotion of finished products in global supply chains.
In order to modernize agriculture in the region with the introduction of American technologies, Mirziyoyev proposed the creation of a Regional partnership for agricultural technology innovation.
To strengthen humanitarian ties, the President of Uzbekistan suggested the organization of a joint exhibition of the cultural heritage of Central Asian countries in leading American museums.
The Uzbek leader also proposed to hold the next “C5+1” summit in Samarkand.
Photo: president.uz
