Central Asian countries, USA launching B5+1 business platform

Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and the United States are launching a business platform for public-private dialogue – Business 5+1, the US State Department’s Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs reported.

“B5+1 promotes economic security through regional economic integration and reform, public-private dialogue, innovation and foreign investment,” it said.

The first meeting in the B5+1 format will be held in Almaty in 2024.

An agreement to create a B5+1 business platform was reached in September during the first summit of the heads of state of Central Asia and the United States (C5+1) in New York.

Then the White House noted that the new platform would complement diplomatic contacts between countries and help establish connections in the private sector for economic development.