Members of the US Congress, Sidney Kamlager-Dav and Bill Huizen, in an official letter to President Donald Trump, proposed holding a C5+1 leaders' summit in Washington, D.C., Kamlager-Dav's official website reports. It is proposed to hold this summit in connection with the celebration of the forum's 10th anniversary.
The C5+1 format was established in 2015 to strengthen cooperation between the United States and five Central Asian countries - Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. This platform serves to deepen dialogue in the areas of security, economic development, and ecology.
As noted in the congressmen's message, the anniversary summit of the forum could become an important opportunity for the USA to further strengthen strategic interests in the region - relations in the field of security, economic cooperation, "soft power" policy, and governance.
"The President's personal participation in the C5+1 summit will make the 10th anniversary of this forum an important diplomatic event. This could determine the direction of US-Central Asian relations for the next decade," the letter says.
The legislators called on the administration to prepare new agreements within the framework of the summit, guaranteeing practical results and long-term partnership in the region.
Recall that the "Central Asia - USA" (C5+1) format was first launched in November 2015 after the meeting of foreign ministers in Samarkand. In recent years, the forum has been held regularly at the level of foreign ministers. In September 2023, for the first time in the format's history, a summit at the presidential level was held.
The last C5+1 ministerial meeting was held in Astana on February 28, 2024, where the US and Central Asian countries discussed issues of deepening trade, investment, and economic development.
Thus, the proposal to hold a summit in Washington is considered an important step towards further activating US participation in the region and initiating a new stage of cooperation with the countries of Central Asia.
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