The Tajik president’s press service says President Emomali Rahmon will take part in a summit of the United States and Central Asian five president, known as C5+1, which will be held in New York on September 19 or 20.  

A source within the Tajik president’s press service noted that the event would take place on the sidelines of the high-level political forum on sustainable development that will take place at UN Headquarters in New York from September 18-19.  

According to him, the US President Joe Biden has invited Emomali Rahmon to take part in the C5+1 summit. 

Some experts note that news of the C5+1 summit at the level of heads of state appeared against the background of ongoing Russian military aggression against Ukraine and reports about  the supply by Kazakh and Kyrgyz of sanctioned dual-use technology to the Russian Federation.  

The C5+1 diplomatic platform represents the U.S. government’s whole of government approach to Central Asia, jointly engaging all five Central Asian governments (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan).  It is a diplomatic summit that has been held every year since 2015 between the foreign ministers of the five Central Asian countries and the United States.  

The first C5+1 ministerial meeting took place in Samarqand (Uzbekistan) in November 2015.  The six foreign ministers agreed to focus on three sectors of common interest – security, economics, and environmental challenges.

Since the inception of the C5+1 dialogue, the Central Asian countries have reportedly been increasingly interested in regional approaches and view the C5+1 as a catalyst for common action.

In 2022, the C5+1 launched a Secretariat to facilitate the processes for identifying and advancing shared priorities, coordinating communications between participating governments, and planning high-level ministerials and other engagements.