Rubio arrives in Samarkand as Washington seeks closer ties with Central Asia

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrived in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, on Sunday evening ahead of talks with representatives of five Central Asian countries, as Washington seeks to expand diplomatic, economic and security cooperation with the region. Rubio will attend a ministerial meeting under the C5+1 format, bringing together the United States and Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan. He is also scheduled to hold bilateral talks with senior officials from all five countries. The visit has a significant commercial dimension.