Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan sign major deals with U.S.
Donald Trump praised Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev and Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev for signing major contracts with U.S. firms, which are expected to enhance the Middle Corridor trade network.
Trump in a couple of blasts from his Truth Social account singled out the Uzbek and Kazakh leaders for praise after their respective countries signed major contracts with US firms. The deals can provide a major boost for the Middle Corridor, an emerging trade network designed to strengthen connections between Central Asia and Western markets, News.Az reports citing foreign media.
Trump hailed Uzbekistan specifically for agreeing to buy almost two dozen Boeing 787 Dreamliners, a deal worth over $8 billion. The US president claimed purchase would create “over 35,000 jobs” in the United States. “President Mirziyoyev is a man of his word, and we will continue to work together on many more items! Thank you for your attention to this matter,” Trump clucked on Truth Social.
Mirziyoyev, in New York on September 22 in connection with the UN General Assembly, was busy working on more deals, and also meeting with Trump’s special representative Sergio Gor, who was born in the Uzbek capital Tashkent. An Uzbek presidential statement about the meeting hinted that the topic of a Trump visit to Central Asia was discussed. “Plans for upcoming events were also considered,” the statement concluded cryptically.
Mirziyoyev’s office disclosed a $1-billion geological exploration deal with the metals and minerals firm Traxys, which offers “personalized services along the entire supply chain.” The Traxys deal, according a presidential statement, creates a “road map for the introduction of advanced technologies and knowledge in the field of extraction, processing and creation of sustainable supply chains of critical minerals.”
The Uzbek leader additionally announced an array of agreements with other US firms covering mining, banking, transport, energy and healthcare. Financial details of those agreements were not immediately disclosed.
The biggest US deal with Kazakhstan concerns $4.2 billion worth of freight railroad equipment, including locomotives. “Congratulations to President Tokayev on his great purchase,” Trump stated in a separate Truth Social post. “This Country, and the World, was built on reliable, beautiful Railroads. Now they will be coming back, FAST!”
Tokayev, also attending the UN General Assembly, held talks on September 22 with Gor and other US officials and corporate executives. Tokayev additionally had a phone conversation with Trump, according to a government statement. “Kazakhstan highly appreciates President Trump's leadership in promoting pragmatic diplomacy,” a statement quoted Tokayev as saying. Trump described the call as “wonderful.”
Tokayev also held a brief meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Afterwards, Tokayev emphasized a need “to continue diplomatic work in order to find ways to end the conflict.”
Elsewhere, the Middle Corridor appears to have received a boost from the European Union. EU Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos, back from a tour of the South Caucasus, announced a 202.5-million-euro aid package for Armenia. The funds are ostensibly earmarked to promote “reforms and socio-economic resilience.” However, local media reports indicate that a significant chunk of the funding will be devoted to developing the Trump Route for Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP), a key provision in the provisional peace deal signed in August by Azerbaijan and Armenia in Washington.
TRIPP, if completed according to its original vision, figures to become a key conduit for the Middle Corridor.
Kos indicated that promoting peace in the Caucasus via expanded trade was an EU objective.
“The EU strongly supports the Armenia-Azerbaijan normalization process and stands ready to invest in regional connectivity,” an EU statement quoted her as saying. “By opening trade routes, linking infrastructure, and bringing people closer together, we can transform today’s opportunity into lasting peace and shared prosperity.”
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