U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio to Visit Kazakhstan and Other Central Asian States in 2026

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has announced a tour of Central Asian countries, including Kazakhstan, Orda.kz reports.

Speaking at a reception at the State Department attended by the heads of the foreign affairs agencies of the five Central Asian nations, Rubio said he plans to visit Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan in 2026.

He noted that the trip would likely last a week or longer.

Rubio emphasized that the interests of the United States and Central Asian countries align in areas such as economic development, market access, and natural resource extraction. He said Washington aims to expand cooperation both bilaterally and within the C5+1 format, a regional diplomatic platform that includes the U.S. and the five Central Asian republics.

The last U.S. secretary of state to make a similar trip was Antony Blinken.

According to Rubio, Central Asia had long remained outside the focus of U.S. foreign policy, but that is now changing. He described the renewed engagement as “an exciting opportunity” and noted that the two sides share national interests in economic growth and sustainable development.

The Secretary of State also said that American companies’ interest in the region’s natural resources is increasing, adding that Central Asian nations seek to use their resource wealth to diversify their economies — and that the United States wants to support that process.

Washington, in particular, is interested in Kazakhstan’s tungsten reserves, which are among the largest in the world. Tungsten is on the list of critical metals for the U.S. and is used by the Pentagon in ammunition, armored vehicles, and missiles.

With China controlling over 80% of global tungsten production, the Trump administration has instructed the Department of Commerce to look for alternative suppliers in Central Asia and Africa. 

Kazakhstan’s North Katpar and Verkhne-Kairatinskoye deposits are considered the country’s most significant sources.

Also present at the State Department event was Senator Steve Daines, who announced plans to introduce legislation to repeal the Jackson–Vanik Amendment, a 1974 Cold War–era law that restricts U.S. trade with non-market economies. While Russia, Ukraine, and other post-Soviet states have already been exempted, the amendment still technically applies to Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, and Belarus.

Rubio has previously voiced support for repealing Jackson–Vanik for Kazakhstan, calling it a “relic of the past.”

He has argued that pressuring regional states to meet foreign standards is counterproductive, noting that Kazakhstan has already confirmed its transition to a market economy.

However, removing the restriction formally requires a separate congressional resolution.

Original Author: Ruslan Loginov