Kulubaev to hold talks with Marco Rubio in Samarkand on October 19

Kyrgyzstan's Foreign Minister Zheenbek Kulubaev will take part in talks with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on October 19, 2026, according to the Kyrgyz Foreign Ministry as reported by Kaktus.media. The meeting will take place in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, with the heads of diplomatic agencies of five Central Asian states attending.

The talks will be held in the C5+1 format, which brings together Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and the United States. The parties intend to consider regional and international cooperation, as well as prospects for expanding ties between Washington and the countries of the region.

Rubio's trip to Central Asia is planned for October 17–22, 2026, and the US delegation will include more than 200 business representatives. The economic part of the visit covers trade and economic ties and investment. The C5+1 mechanism was created in 2015; the first ministerial meeting took place in Samarkand on November 1, 2015, when US Secretary of State John Kerry represented the United States.