The United States will host the presidents of the five Central Asian nations in Washington, DC on 6 November for a high-level C5+1 summit, with US President Donald Trump likely to join the discussions.
The gathering marks the 10th anniversary of the C5+1 diplomatic platform, first launched in 2015 under the Obama administration.
This will be only the second C5+1 summit at the presidential level, following a 2023 meeting with then-President Joe Biden on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).
If confirmed, it would also be the first time that all five Central Asian leaders convene together with a US president in the American capital.
Central Asian leaders have rarely been granted such prominence in Washington. The last to receive a White House invitation was Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, who paid a working visit in 2018.
When the media reached out to the US State Department last week about any official plans to mark the C5+1’s tenth anniversary, a state department official responded, “We look forward to recognising ten years of US-Central Asian partnership through the C5+1 diplomatic platform and enhancing cooperation between our countries.
“We will let you know of any confirmed diplomatic engagements.”
The first official confirmation came on 26 October from Kazakhstan’s presidential press office through a post on X. It stated Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev had accepted Trump’s invitation to attend the Washington summit.
“President Tokayev regarded the initiative of the American leader as both timely and important,” the post read. It added Tokayev “shares the key principles of President Trump’s domestic and foreign policy, in particular the advocacy of traditional values based on common sense, as well as dedication to safeguarding peace and security.”
On 27 October, media outlets in Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan reported their presidents had also confirmed participation in the 6 November meeting.
Meanwhile, Tajik outlet Asia-Plus noted the Tajik president’s press service had not yet confirmed whether Emomali Rahmon received an invitation, and Turkmen state media have so far remained silent on the event.
Earlier on 20 October, Rep Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-CA) and Rep Bill Huizenga (R-MI)- the ranking member and chair of the House Subcommittee on South & Central Asia- sent a joint letter urging the Trump administration to “host and personally attend a C5+1 Leaders’ Summit in Washington, DC this year.”
News of the summit coincided with the visit of US Special Envoy for South and Central Asia Sergio Gor and Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau to Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
Gor, originally from Soviet Uzbekistan, has long been seen as a powerful figure in Washington. The Washington Post described him in December 2024 as “maybe the most powerful man you’ve never heard of.”
Previously director of the White House Presidential Personnel Office, he was nominated by Trump as ambassador to India in August and confirmed in early October. He now also serves as a special envoy for South and Central Asia.
Since its inception, the C5+1 has shaped much of US engagement with the region. Established with a foreign minister-level meeting led by then-Secretary of State John Kerry in Samarkand on 1 November, 2015, the initiative aimed to strengthen collective diplomacy in Central Asia.
It provided US a platform to maintain regional influence as the Afghanistan war wound down and both Russia and China expanded their presence.
The framework suited Central Asia’s multivector foreign policies and aligned with renewed regional cooperation following the 2016 death of Uzbekistan’s isolationist first President Islam Karimov.
Most previous meetings, including the 2023 presidential summit, took place on the sidelines of the UNGA. However, no such gathering occurred during this year’s UNGA session, and expectations for an anniversary summit had dimmed- especially amid the ongoing US government shutdown and Trump’s preference for bilateral over multilateral engagement.
Still, as analysts note, Central Asia’s political style- characterised by strong presidential authority and grand national visions- resonates with Trump’s approach to diplomacy.
The unexpected announcement of the US summit highlights both the evolving character of US foreign relations under the Trump administration and the emerging possibilities for a new phase of US-Central Asian cooperation.
