ALMATY -- US officials met with the delegations of five Central Asian states July 20-23 to discuss economic and security co-operation, according to a US State Department statement Monday (July 23).
The meetings took place in Almaty, Kazakhstan, and Tashkent, Uzbekistan, under three working groups for environment, economic connectivity and security.
The working groups are part of the C5+1 format, the primary regional diplomatic platform serving the five Central Asian countries and the United States.
Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs Manisha Singh led the US delegation July 20 in Almaty for the economic connectivity group, which reviewed ways of bolstering economic ties.
"USAID Deputy Assistant Administrator for Asia Javier Piedra also briefed participants on current C5+1 economic projects and identified opportunities for future engagement," said the statement.
Meanwhile, Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Central Asia Henry Ensher introduced the Central Asian Regional Electricity Market (CAREM) project July 20 in Almaty while heading the US delegation to the environment working group.
He also led the US delegation to the security working group July 23 in Tashkent to discuss regional counter-terrorism efforts and border security co-operation.
All sides discussed "efforts to counter violent extremism in the region and the launch of the first two working group projects ... [focused] ... on community engagement as a means to prevent radicalisation to violence", according to the statement.
