Marco Rubio opens Central Asia talks in Uzbekistan

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio opens talks in Uzbekistan on Monday with officials from five Central Asian states, seeking to strengthen US ties in a region rich in natural resources where China is a major competitor.

Rubio arrived in Samarkand late Sunday before meetings with officials from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. His delegation includes 200 business executives.

A senior State Department official said Rubio was showing US goodwill toward a “deepening partnership across Central Asia”, especially in the energy sector.

The five former Soviet republics remain linked to Russia through energy pipelines, security ties and migration networks, but Russian influence has weakened since the start of its invasion of Ukraine. China is now the main trade partner of all five countries.

Chinese companies have signed energy-related deals involving natural gas in Turkmenistan, uranium in Kazakhstan and rare earths in Tajikistan.

After Uzbekistan, Rubio is due to travel to India, with stops in Mumbai and Jamnagar in Gujarat state. A second senior US official said Washington was “very close” to a trade deal with India after months of negotiations.

The United States and India reached a provisional agreement in February aimed at reducing US tariffs on Indian products. Legal battles in US courts over tariffs have created uncertainty over when a bilateral deal could take effect.