Rubio’s Uzbekistan trip underlines Central Asia’s hunt for diverse partners
Can the United States reassert influence with pragmatic, transactional approach to Central Asia?
Key points
- US Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrives in Samarkand for C5+1 talks with Central Asian ministers from Saturday to Tuesday.
- Analysts say Washington's approach is now transactional, without lectures on democracy and human rights.
- Experts say US interest in Central Asia is geopolitical and focused on rare-earth minerals.
United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio is arriving in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, for talks with key regional ministers on Saturday. The C5+1 summit, bringing together Central Asia and the US, runs from Saturday to Tuesday and signals Washington's new approach to the ex-Soviet region, described as pragmatic and transactional.
The article says the US once pushed democratisation and human rights in Central Asia, but that focus has faded. Regional expert Galiya Ibragimova told Al Jazeera that when the West began moralising, regional leaders turned towards China or Russia.
What analysts say
Alisher Ilkhamov, head of the London-based Central Asia Due Diligence think tank, told Al Jazeera that US interest is mostly geopolitical and military-strategic, given the region's location between Russia and China. He said Washington apparently wants a military base there as a deterrent against China.
The article says economic interests focus on rare-earth minerals and other critical elements, especially as China uses them as a political cudgel. Deposits are abundant but need development, technology and investment.
When the West began moralising, teaching them about democracy, human rights, they immediately turned towards China or Russia
— Galiya Ibragimova
Rights concerns
The article says the White House shows little interest in human rights violations in Central Asia, such as jailing political opponents and independent journalists. Ilkhamov said interest in these issues is absent from Rubio's agenda.
Ivar Dale, a senior policy adviser with the Norwegian Helsinki Committee, told Al Jazeera there are uncomfortable similarities between Trump's worldview and established authoritarian regimes like Tajikistan and Turkmenistan. He said the US State Department should bring back the focus on human rights if the C5+1 format is to be taken seriously.
