‘Trump Didn’t Lecture': Otorbaev Hails Central Asian Leaders Meet

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Djoomart Otorbaev calls the November 6 C5+1 summit a turning point for Central Asia’s global standing — from “periphery” to “partner” in a new geopolitical order.

By TRH Foreign Affairs Desk

New Delhi, November 7, 2025 — Former Kyrgyz Republic Prime Minister Djoomart Otorbaev has described the November 6 meeting between Donald Trump and the five presidents of Central Asian nations as a “historic evening” that symbolized a new era of geopolitical balance. In a reflective post on LinkedIn titled “Trump Didn’t Lecture — He Listened: The Night Central Asia Sat as an Equal at the White House,” Otorbaev said the encounter marked the first time Central Asia’s leaders engaged with Washington as “calm, self-assured, and sovereign” equals.

“The scene was striking,” Otorbaev wrote, recalling the East Room of the White House where Trump, J.D. Vance, and Marco Rubio sat opposite the presidents of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. “No pleading European leaders, no anxious Zelensky crushed beneath a shouting press corps. This time, the leaders of Central Asia faced the American president as equals.”

He argued that the C5+1 summit, traditionally seen as symbolic, had evolved into what he called “industrial geopolitics in action.” The talks centered on critical minerals, trade, and energy cooperation, reflecting Central Asia’s growing strategic value in the global supply chain.

According to Otorbaev, Trump referred to Central Asia as “an extremely rich region,” emphasizing its reserves of uranium, copper, gold, and rare earth minerals — resources vital to the US energy and defence sectors. “Kazakhstan alone produces nearly 40% of the world’s uranium. Uzbekistan ranks among the top five,” Otorbaev noted. “Together they control over half of global supply — a lifeline for America’s nuclear energy and defence industries.”

The summit produced several tangible outcomes:

Boeing agreed to sell up to 37 aircraft to airlines in Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.
US investors will help develop tungsten deposits in Kazakhstan valued at over $1 billion.
Uzbekistan pledged $100 billion in US investments over the next decade.

But for Otorbaev, the most significant outcome was psychological — a long-overdue shift in perception. “Central Asia is no longer a periphery or sphere of influence. It is a connector — between Russia and China, between Europe and South Asia, between tradition and modernisation,” he wrote.

He suggested that the 2025 summit will be remembered “not for the dinner menu or the photo op, but for the moment when five Central Asian leaders sat across from the most powerful man in the world — not as petitioners, but as partners.”

In his closing reflection, Otorbaev framed the gathering as part of a broader geopolitical realignment: “The 5+1 format has become something greater — a symbol of the world’s transformation from a unipolar order to a network of confident regional powers.”

“Trump didn’t lecture — he listened,” Otorbaev concluded. “Five Central Asian presidents didn’t come to beg. They came to negotiate. And for one evening, the East Room of the White House became the true centre of Eurasia.”

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