Biden To Host Central Asia Summit At UN Today

Washington D.C./19.09.23/Turan:  U.S. President Joe Biden is set to host the first ever summit of the United States and five Central Asian presidents, known as C5+1, this afternoon in the U.S. United Nations Mission, TURAN's correspondent reports from New York.

The leaders of the five Central Asian countries — Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan are all attending the UN General Assembly, which will kick off this morning.

"The C5+1 actually began in 2015. It has been strengthened in the years since.  And now we will see it come together at the leaders level for the first time," a Senior Biden administration official told TURAN's U.S. correspondent ahead of today's meeting.

According to the White House, the leader will be focusing on a range of topics: regional security, climate change, trade and connectivity, and ongoing reforms to improve governance and the rule of law. The summit is part of the Biden administration’s strategic move to embrace the region, where the West had less influence compared to that of Russia and China. Neither Russia's Putin nor China's Xre present at this year's UNGA.

Today's historic summit will come soon after Biden's remarks before the Session of the UNGA. Also today, the U.S. President will meet with U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres, and will host the traditional reception with world leaders in the evening where he'll "have the chance to engage with dozens of heads of state and government working around the world," as a senior administration official put it.

Alex Raufoglu