WASHINGTON: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is scheduled to visit Samarkand, Uzbekistan, to meet leaders of the C5+1 grouping, as the Trump administration seeks to strengthen its engagement with resource-rich Central Asia amid mounting geopolitical tensions involving Iran, Yemen and Ukraine.
The C5+1 platform brings together the United States and five Central Asian countries — Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. The region holds growing strategic importance because of its location between China, Russia and Iran, as well as its energy resources and economic potential.
The Trump administration has described Central Asia as a region deserving greater diplomatic and strategic attention than it received under previous US administrations.
President Donald Trump hosted leaders of the five Central Asian countries at the White House last November. During the engagement, Kazakhstan reportedly agreed to join the Abraham Accords. Trump had also met Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly.
Rubio’s visit comes amid questions over Washington’s broader foreign policy priorities and the division of diplomatic responsibilities within the Trump administration. While the secretary of state has focused on engagements in regions outside the immediate international spotlight, other senior officials, including special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner and Vice President JD Vance, have handled several sensitive diplomatic initiatives.
Rubio has not visited Kyiv or Moscow since taking office as secretary of state. He was also absent from recent talks between US and Ukrainian officials in Florida, where Washington reportedly urged Ukraine to halt attacks on Russian oil refineries. Vance represented the United States in Pakistan during talks with Iran in April.
The administration has rejected suggestions that senior cabinet officials should concentrate their diplomatic travel exclusively on major geopolitical capitals and conflict zones.
However, Rubio’s Central Asia visit is expected to draw attention to a key regional challenge: balancing closer relations with Washington against longstanding economic, political and historical ties with Moscow.
A Central Asian diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity, said regional officials were seeking clarity on the extent to which Washington would continue targeting the circumvention of sanctions imposed on Russia.
All five Central Asian states maintain deep historical ties with Russia while pursuing stronger relations with the United States and other international partners. Western officials have also expressed concerns that the region has been used to facilitate Russian imports and exports in violation of US and European Union sanctions.
Rubio’s meetings with Central Asian leaders are therefore significant not only for expanding US diplomatic and economic engagement, but also for assessing the region’s role in the wider strategic competition involving Washington, Moscow and Beijing.
The visit underscores the growing importance of Central Asia in US foreign policy, particularly as Washington seeks to advance its strategic interests beyond the immediate theatres of international conflict.
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