US President Donald Trump hosted leaders of five Central Asian countries at the White House on Thursday as he intensifies efforts to acquire rare earth metals needed for the production of high-tech devices, including smartphones, electric cars and fighter jets.
Trump and the presidents of Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan held bilateral meetings in the Oval Office before having a working dinner.
“These nations were once home to the ancient Silk Road connecting the East and West,” Trump said, while noting that “sadly, previous American presidents neglected this region completely.”
“I understand the importance of this region, a lot of people don’t know that,” he added.
Central Asia holds deep reserves of rare earth minerals and produces roughly half the world’s uranium, which is critical to nuclear power production. The region needs further investment to further develop its resources.
“In recent weeks, my administration has strengthened American economic security by forging agreements with allies and friends across the world to broaden our critical minerals supply chains,” Trump stressed.
“We oftentimes spend so much time focused on crisis and problems — and they deserve attention — that sometimes we don’t spend enough time focused on exciting new opportunities,” said US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
“And that’s what exists here now: an exciting new opportunity in which the national interests of our respective countries are aligned,” he added.
Uzbekistan keen to boost ties with the US
Before the summit, Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev met with US counterpart Donald Trump at the White House to discuss ways to strengthen the US-Uzbek strategic partnership, enhance political dialogue, and expand trade, economic, investment, and cultural-humanitarian cooperation.
Both sides emphasised the importance of implementing the agreements reached during their previous meeting in New York in September, on the sidelines of the 80th UN General Assembly High-level week.
During the meeting, President Mirziyoyev proposed around 10 key initiatives. Those include the establishment of a permanent secretariat to ensure continuous coordination among member countries, creating a coordination council to on investment and trade to strengthen economic ties and launching the Central Asian Investment Partnership Fund to attract and manage joint investments in key projects.
Mirziyoyev also proposed building better transport, communications and energy infrastructure between the region and Europe, and establishing a special committee to oversee the exploration, extraction and processing of critical minerals.
The Uzbek leader also told Trump that more work is needed to modernise the region’s agricultural technology through US innovation, as well as to promote Uzbek cultural heritage in major US museums.
“I am confident that advanced American experience and technology, combined with the region’s skilled human resources, industrial capacity, and resource potential, can yield tangible results in the very near future,” said Sherzod Asadov, press secretary to the president of Uzbekistan.
Trump announced on his social media platform Truth Social that the Central Asian country is set to dramatically boost its investment in the US in a deal he hailed as “incredible”.
According to Trump, Uzbekistan plans to purchase and invest nearly $35 billion (€30.3 billion) over the next three years, and more than $100 billion (€86.6 billion) within the next decade, in key US sectors such as critical minerals, aviation, automotive, infrastructure, agriculture, energy, and technology.
He also expressed gratitude to Mirziyoyev, describing him as “highly respected,” and said he looks forward to a long and productive partnership between the two nations.
At the conclusion of the negotiations, Mirziyoyev invited Donald Trump to pay an official visit to Uzbekistan at a mutually convenient time.
Kazakhstan to join Trump’s 2020 Abraham Accords
Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev was also involved in negotiations to further strengthen his country’s ties with Washington.
Tokayev reached several agreements with the US president, ranging from joint ventures to increased investments.
The US and Kazakhstan have agreed to jointly embark on a venture to explore one of the largest undeveloped tungsten deposits in the world — the Northern Katpar and Upper Kairakty.
US-based Cove Kaz Capital Group is set to acquire a 70% stake in a joint project with Kazakhstan’s state mining company, Tau-Ken Samruk, to develop one of the world’s largest undeveloped tungsten deposits.
The venture, valued at $1.1 billion (€952 million), has received a letter of interest from the US Export-Import Bank to provide up to $900 million (€779 million) in financing. The deal was signed on the sidelines of the C5+1 summit, between Nariman Absametov, Head of Tau-Ken Samruk, and Pini Althaus, CEO of Cove Capital.
The project is in a preparatory stage, with work expected to commence in the near future to unearth deposits, estimated to house around 410,000 tonnes of tungsten, significantly boosting the local mining industry.
The meeting also reached an agreement for the US to sell up to a combined 37 Boeing jets to the national airlines of Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, some of the rising players in the region’s commercial aviation space.
The Kazakh president also announced support for Trump, who he praised as a “president of peace,” and committed his country to an initiative he hailed as remarkable for regional peace: the 2020 Abraham Accords, which normalised ties between Israel and several Arab countries.
“By joining the Abraham Accords, Kazakhstan seeks to contribute to overcoming confrontation, promoting dialogue, and upholding international law based on the UN Charter,” said a statement by the presidential press service.
“The decision does not affect Kazakhstan’s bilateral commitments with any state and represents a natural continuation of the country’s multi-vector diplomacy aimed at fostering peace and security,” the statement added.
The meeting also led to deals to boost collaboration in the digital space. The owner of Kazakhstan’s Alatau City Bank, Vyacheslav Kim, signed an agreement, facilitated by the Kazakh Ministry of AI and Digital Development, worth $300 million (€260 million) with DDH, to strengthen the partnership in digital mining and modernise energy and computing infrastructure.
Tokayev described his Washington visit and talks with Trump as “productive” and reaffirmed his country’s commitment to further strengthening its strategic partnership with the United States in the years and decades to follow.