US and Central Asian Countries Could Sign Billion-Dollar Deals, Secretary of State Says

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio visited Samarkand and was at Registan Square on the morning of 19 October. Speaking to journalists, he said the site had long been a crossroads of trade routes and that many American company representatives had come to visit it and to take part in the C5+1 forum. Rubio said the United States wants to be a reliable partner of Central Asia, first of all Uzbekistan.

Rubio said a delegation of nearly 300 American companies had arrived and that the meetings could lead to billion-dollar deals that would bring economic benefits to the countries of the region and to the United States. Asked by a Kun.uz correspondent about a possible visit to Uzbekistan by US President Donald Trump, he said both sides would like to organise such a visit and work out suitable dates next year.

The second meeting of the American-Uzbek Business and Investment Council and a C5+1 foreign ministers' meeting are scheduled for the same day. Rubio and Uzbek Foreign Minister Bakhtiyor Saidov will hold the first round of dialogue on the Enhanced Strategic Partnership. Business sessions cover six sectors: digital technology, education and healthcare, minerals, energy and transport, agriculture and textiles, and finance and investment, with participants including Boeing, Google, Meta and Citigroup.