The United States and Central Asian nations announced a record series of trade and investment agreements at the 10th-anniversary C5+1 Summit, signaling a new phase of cooperation in energy, infrastructure, technology, and artificial intelligence.

The high-profile event at the Department of Commerce brought together ministers, ambassadors, and business leaders from across the region. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick said the initiatives reflect Washington’s renewed commitment to long-term regional growth and partnership.

“We’re advancing a clear strategy, which is reciprocal trade and strategic investment … the Department of Commerce is helping America and Central Asian firms connect, invest and grow together.”

On digital investment, Lutnick said: “If you want to invest in digital, you know, America is going to be open for business. We are open for our great allies to be able to buy our best chips and have them in country, which is a complete change from the prior Biden administration. So if the country has the proper set of digital laws, we will then encourage our great companies to invest digitally in the C5+1 and grow digitally there.”

He also described the C5+1 as central to U.S. engagement: “The C5+1 platform is a cornerstone of that strategy” and “We’re proud to see your new initiatives taking shape for energy diversification, logistics modernization, [and] emerging partnerships across the trans Caspian corridor.”

The event then moved into the “Deal Zone,” where close to twenty agreements across the region were announced. The Times of Central Asia attended the ceremony and reports below the deals as they were introduced on stage.

“These are not abstract projects. They are real investments, creating real jobs, extending connectivity and strengthening resilience from the Caspian all the way to California.”

The deals, as announced in sequence during the session, are listed below.

Kazakhstan:

• Boeing with Air Astana Airlines — Purchase of up to 15 Boeing 787 Dreamliners, opening new North American routes representing Air Astana’s historical largest order.
• Cove Capital with the Government of Kazkhstan — $1 billion investment to develop the largest known untapped tungsten deposit in the world valued at more than $80 billion.
• Leidos with KazAero — Modernization of national air-traffic-control systems using Skyline X ATMS technology as well as to facilitate the deployment, testing and training of staff of all their air traffic control centers.
• John Deere and the Government of Kazakhstan — $3–5 billion agricultural-equipment agreement. 60% involves tractors and seeding equipment manufactured in Iowa, Illinois, and North Dakota.
• Citigroup with KTZ Locomotives + U.S. EXIM Bank — $1.6 billion export-credit financing for locomotive procurement. This was a follow up to the agreement signed at the recent United National General Assembly meeting, the largest ever locomotive deal in the history of the world.
• Colorado School of Mines, Education Testing Service, Arizona State University with the Kazakhstan Ministry of Science and Higher Education — Supporting the establishment of a university. The project will substantially contribute to the development of professional engineers and geoscientists with critical minerals expertise in both the United States and Kazakhstan.
• Beeline Kazakhstan with Starlink — The world’s first national direct-to-cell connectivity program, extending satellite coverage to remote regions not covered by terrestrial networks.
• Nvidia, OpenAI, and Freedom Holding Corp and Ministry of Digital Development — An MOU $2 billion advanced AI-chip procurement agreement.
• National Investment Corporation of Kazakhstan with Brookfield Asset Management, Cerberus Capital Management , and Ashmore Investment Advisors— Formation of three cooperation agreements for private-equity partnerships.

Kyrgyzstan

• All American Rail Group (Texas) with the Kyrgyz Republic — Rail construction and engineering, operation, maintenance and eventually transfer national and regional railway infrastructure linking Kyrgyzstan to the Trans-Caspian corridor.
• Citigroup with Aiyl Bank — MOU cooperation agreement.
• Oppenheimer & Co. with Aiyl Bank — Underwriting of a $300 million five-year senior unsecured bond, following its earlier $700 million sovereign bond issuance.

Tajikistan:

• Somon Air with Boeing — Commitment for order for its largest ever order of up to 4 Boeing 787s and 10 737 MAX jets, the airline’s first wide-body purchase to launch new intercontinental routes from Tajikstan.
• Transparent Earth LLC with Tajik company Avesto Group— $30 million MOU to jointly develop, build and operate a national digital-governance platform.
• Sixth Grain Inc. with Marmari Tajikistan — Preliminary agreement for development and implementation of a $2.43 million digital platform for Marmari’s agricultural lands.
• Perplexity AI — Joining the Central Asia AI Consortium, based in Tajikistan’s planned the world’s first AI Free Zone to expand its service across all of Central Asia and derive multimillion annual recurring revenue from the region.
• Super Micro (California) with The Ministry of Industry and New Technologies of Tajikistan (MINTECH) — MOU for the deployment of a sovereign green AI computing infrastructure powered by 1 GW of hydropower by 2030.
• Oppenheimer & Co. with Ministry of Industry — An MOU (details not discussed)

Uzbekistan:

• Uzbekistan Airways with Boeing — will sign the final order of eight additional 787 Dreamliners, bringing their total book to 22 wide body jets which will help build Uzbekistan Airways growth as they expand into more international markets. for $14 bn
• John Deere × Government of Uzbekistan — $300 million agricultural-machinery agreement, half produced in the U.S.

Turkmenistan

Although no new deals were signed, Turkmenistan was recognized as an active C5 partner, with future collaboration expected in energy and infrastructure.

A New Phase for the C5+1 Partnership

In his closing remarks, Under Secretary of Commerce William Nitt said the day’s announcements were “a clear demonstration of the United States commitment to deepening economic ties with our Central Asian partners, in a preview of the even stronger cooperation that lies ahead in trade, investment and innovation.”

He commented on the developments of the day, noting that “the Department of Commerce is at the front line in advancing U.S. commercial interests and supporting American businesses in global markets” and that success would depend on “close coordination across the U.S. government, including with the State Department, the U.S. Trade Representative, the U.S. Export-Import Bank, the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation and many other critical agencies.” He emphasized that this coordination is key to expanding opportunities for American companies, underscoring the importance of “connecting them with committed partners across the globe who share our belief in innovation, transparency and long term growth.”

Nitt added that, through the C5+1 platform, the United States will “continue to deepen technical collaboration, advance energy diversification and expand digital transformation, all supporting greater regional stability and prosperity.” He emphasized that “the United States looks forward to remaining the partner of choice for the C5 nations and supporting innovation driven growth that strengthens Central Asia’s prosperity, connectivity and global competitiveness.”