The first summit of leaders of Central Asia and the United States was held in New York

On the sidelines of the session of the UN General Assembly in New York on the evening of September 19, the first summit of leaders of the countries of Central Asia and the United States, called C5+1, ended. US President Joe Biden held talks with the presidents of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev, Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon, Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhamedov and Kyrgyzstan Sadyr Japarov. The C5+1 format as a regional diplomatic platform at the government level was formed in 2015.

Opening the summit, Biden thanked the Central Asian presidents for their “partnership approach to addressing regional security challenges,” and also shared with his colleagues how Washington and countries in the region “can work together to further strengthen sovereignty, prosperity, and protect human rights.” The leaders discussed creating a more conducive business environment for trade and investment through the creation of a business platform for the private sector. To this end, Biden has instructed the US Agency for International Development (USAID) to hold a ministerial meeting in October in one of the Central Asian states to discuss practical steps that would “promote sustainable economic development.”

The American president also invited the forum participants to begin work on attracting investments to open the Trans-Caspian International Transport Corridor – a route bypassing Russia, connecting China with European countries through Kazakhstan, the Caspian Sea, Azerbaijan and Georgia.

Tokayev focused on creating favorable opportunities for American companies in mineral development, renewable energy and manufacturing in Kazakhstan. Today, the joint share of American Chevron and ExxonMobil in Tengizchevroil, the country’s largest oil producing company, is 75%. Kazakhstan is the main trade and economic partner of the United States in the region. In addition, the United States is one of the three main investors in the Kazakh economy (along with the Netherlands and Switzerland). According to Kazakh Invest, the amount of accumulated American investments since 2005 has exceeded $95 billion. In 2022, US investments increased 1.8 times compared to last year to $5.1 billion.

President of Kyrgyzstan Japarov noted that the key condition for the economic sustainability of any country is uninterrupted energy supplies. “Our country has almost half of the region’s water resources. The hydropower potential of Kyrgyzstan is about 142.5 billion kWh per year, but currently no more than 13% is used,” the presidential press service reports. To solve this problem, Japarov called on investors to cooperate to implement projects for the construction of hydroelectric power stations and other renewable energy facilities, and also expressed hope that the Americans would provide assistance in working with international financial institutions.

From the point of view of political dialogue, the importance of the C5+1 format has increased: before this, summits, as a rule, were held at the level of foreign ministers, says Stanislav Pritchin, an expert at the Center for Post-Soviet Studies at IMEMO RAS. According to him, through these dialogue platforms, the Americans seek to limit the economic interaction of the Central Asian states with Russia and, in the future, with China. “Although to date, US trade and investment activity in the region has been quite modest, against the backdrop of growing international tensions, this region remains a promising direction for Washington’s foreign policy,” Pritchin noted.

According to Kyrgyz political scientist Mars Sariev, Washington is ready to offer Central Asian countries funding for alternative trade routes to Europe, and is also considering the possibility of returning its military bases there. At the same time, the states of the region, Sariev continues, will try to maneuver and will not break with either Moscow or Beijing.

Escalation in the South Caucasus also contributes to American plans in Central Asia, Sariev believes. “The victory of Azerbaijan and the possible opening of the Zangezur corridor in Armenia will create the opportunity for a stable trade route between Europe and the region through the Caspian Sea. “The United States is ready to finance this project and ultimately use it to weaken the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative,” the expert concluded.