As a warm-up to the US-Central Asia summit meeting, the presidents of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan announced a bevy of deals and agreements covering a wide range of economic sectors, including critical minerals.
The leaders of the five Central Asian states met with President Donald Trump on November 6 at the White House under the C5+1 format, which is marking its 10th anniversary as the main framework for US cooperation with the region.
Prior to the summit’s start, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev’s press office had some of the day’s biggest announcements, including the signing of a memorandum of understanding “on cooperation in the field of critical minerals.” Details on the memo were not immediately disclosed.
Tokayev additionally announced a $2.5 billion investment deal with US agricultural and construction machinery manufacturer John Deere Inc.Also timed for the summit was the November 5 announcement of an agreement struck in Almaty between the Kazakh National Bank and the VISA financial services company to improve Kazakhstan’s digital payment systems.
Though not officially confirmed by Kazakh officials, reports circulated on November 6 that Kazakhstan was prepared to sign on to the Abraham Accords, a Trump-brokered pact seeking to normalize relations between the Arab and Muslim world and Israel.
Kazakhstan’s decision to join the accords is seen as a gesture to help the Trump administration instill fresh momentum into the process.The Abraham Accords were among the most significant foreign policy achievements of Trump’s first term.
Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev announced the signing of eight deals, covering geological surveying for critical minerals, water conservation technologies, soybean purchases, cotton exports and artificial intelligence.A report published by Tajikistan’s official Khovar news agency indicated that a US-Tajik business forum held in conjunction with the summit yielded “a number of agreements and memorandums on cooperation in transportation, investment, technology exchange, and other economic sectors.” The report provided no details.
At a State Department reception for the Central Asian delegations on November 5, US officials stressed the win-win nature of bilateral economic cooperation, while announcing a procedural move to remove a source of trade friction.
Idaho Republican Senator James Risch, chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, sought to distinguish the United States from Central Asia’s two main trading partners Russia and China saying that expanded trade ties with Washington would ensure that regional states could “decide their own destinies.” Risch went on to announce the introduction of a bill in Congress to lift Jackson-Vanik trade restrictions on Central Asian states and grant them permanent most favored nation trade status.
The announcement is sure to encourage Kazakh officials, who have bristled over the lingering Jackson-Vanik status, which they portray as an outdated relic of the Cold War.Secretary of State Marco Rubio indicated that the United States viewed the summit as a steppingstone to expanded cooperation, saying the United States was eager to help Central Asian states reach their development goals. “You are looking to take the resources both your people and natural resources that God has blessed your nations with and turn them into responsible development that allow you to diversify your economies,” he said. “You don’t just want to be a source of energy or a source of minerals; you want to use that responsibly to build out other sectors of your of your economies so that you provide long-term opportunities for your people and further develop.” “Our national interests are aligned,” he added.
Tokayev maintained a busy schedule prior to the summit’s start, beginning the day with a breakfast meeting hosted by Rubio.A statement issued by Tokayev’s office noted that the United States and Kazakhstan have “excellent opportunities to further strengthen their strategic partnership.” Later, the Kazakh president held meetings with a US congressional delegation and a group of Kazakh IT entrepreneurs in the United States representing 20 startup ventures with a collective valuation of $1.4 billion. “Digitalization and the development of the high-tech industry are of strategic importance,” Tokayev told the entrepreneurs.
In September, the president unveiled a plan to transform Kazakhstan into “a full-fledged digital power,” establishing a dedicated Ministry of Artificial Intelligence.