[Video] Rubio Meets Uzbekistan's President in Samarkand as U.S. and Uzbekistan Announce About $12 Billion in Business and Investment Agreements
On October 19, 2026, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio met Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. Mirziyoyev announced at the meeting that, following this round of the U.S.-Uzbekistan Business and Investment Council, agreements between the two countries total about $12 billion. According to Reuters, the two sides signed an investment agreement spanning multiple sectors that would total $12 billion if fully implemented; the figure is an announced commitment, and Uzbekistan has not published an itemized project list or implementation timetable.
Rubio's Samarkand trip runs October 17–22 and includes more than 200 American business leaders. According to the Uzbek presidential press service, the meeting covered strengthening the strategic partnership and cooperation in trade and investment, security, technology, education and people-to-people ties, with a focus on critical minerals, energy, transportation, super intelligence and digital technology; bilateral trade has grown 35 percent so far in 2026, the statement said. Speaking to business leaders that evening, Rubio said diplomatic travel should not be only about handling immediate crises but also about building long-term relationships, and that the United States needs to do both.
The same day, Rubio attended the C5+1 ministerial in Samarkand with the foreign ministers of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, holding bilateral meetings with each. Uzbek Foreign Minister Bakhtiyor Saidov, with Rubio witnessing, signed the U.S.-led civil space cooperation framework, making Uzbekistan its 77th signatory; the two countries also held their first enhanced strategic partnership dialogue. Mirziyoyev also presented state awards of Uzbekistan to Rubio and to Sergio Gor, the presidential special envoy for South and Central Asia.
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：Samarkand 的雷吉斯坦广场（资料图，卢比奥此行会晤举行地）。Gilad Rom 摄，CC BY 2.0，经 Wikimedia Commons 发布。
