A Summit to Redraw Global Supply Chains
At a White House meeting with the leaders of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan, President Donald Trump declared critical minerals a strategic priority for America’s economic security. The gathering, held under the C5+1 framework, aimed to strengthen ties with Central Asia—a region rich in uranium, copper, gold, and rare earth elements, historically under Russian influence and increasingly linked to China. Trump emphasized that Washington is “forging agreements with allies and friends around the world” to secure stable access to resources vital for the technology, energy, and defense industries.
Economic Diplomacy Meets Geopolitical Competition
The summit marked a new phase in Washington’s approach—blending diplomacy with business engagement. Key outcomes included the sale of up to 37 Boeing aircraft to Central Asian airlines and the development of tungsten mines in Kazakhstan by U.S.-based Cove Capital with government financial support. Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev called the meeting “the beginning of a new era of interaction between the United States and Central Asia,” while Uzbekistan’s President Shavkat Mirziyoyev praised Trump as a “world leader” and proposed the creation of a permanent regional secretariat. Uzbekistan also announced plans to invest over $100 billion in the United States over the next decade, focusing on critical minerals, auto parts, and aviation.
Reconfiguring the Strategic Heart of Eurasia
The C5+1 forum reinforces Washington’s effort to counter the influence of Moscow and Beijing at the core of the Eurasian continent. For the United States, building new overland trade routes and resource alliances in Central Asia is a way to reduce vulnerabilities in global supply chains and strengthen an economic bloc grounded in stability, investment, and strategic resources. Beyond diplomacy, the message is clear: critical minerals are not just the building blocks of the energy transition, they are the foundation upon which the new geopolitical order is being defined.