US President Donald Trump is launching a significant diplomatic outreach to Central Asia, with a “C5” summit planned for November 6 in Washington.
The president of Kazakhstan announced the date, and the leader of Kyrgyzstan confirmed his attendance, according to local media. The White House, however, has remained silent on the plans.
This summit is being held against a backdrop of profound geopolitical shifts. Russia’s long-held dominance in the five former Soviet states is being openly questioned since its war in Ukraine.
This has created a vacuum that China, the EU, and now the US are all seeking to fill. Each has hosted the C5 leaders in recent months, vying for influence.
The region itself, home to 80 million people and rich in rare earths, is eager to find new partners to help it develop its economy and its potential as a global logistics corridor.