U.S. President Donald Trump has invited the leaders of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan to the Group of 20 leaders' summit in Miami next December.
It will be the first time a Central Asian leader has been invited to a G20 since then-Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev joined the Saint Petersburg summit in Russia in 2013 and the Hangzhou summit in China in 2016.
Trump wrote on Truth Social on Tuesday morning that he had two "wonderful telephone calls" with Kazakhstan's President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and Uzbekistan's President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, where they discussed the importance of settling ongoing conflicts and increased trade and cooperation between the nations.
"The relationship with both Countries is spectacular," Trump wrote, adding, "The United States will be hosting the G20 Summit next year, and we will be extending invites to both of these Leaders to join us as guests at this very important event, which will take place in Miami!"
The G20 is scheduled to take place on Dec. 14 to 15, 2026, at his Miami golf resort, Trump National Doral. It will be the first G20 that the U.S. hosts since Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 2009. The guests at that G20, hosted by then-President Barack Obama, were Ethiopia, the Netherlands, Spain and Thailand.
The invitation of the two Central Asian leaders to the G20 follows Trump's hosting of the leaders of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan at the White House in November. It commemorated the 10th anniversary of the "C5+1" diplomatic forum designed to increase American engagement with a region that was long considered Russia's backyard and, more recently, has seen growing Chinese presence.
Sen. Steve Daines, a Republican from Montana, told Nikkei Asia, "Building a closer relationship between the United States and Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, and all of Central Asia, is not just desirable but a strategic imperative for all involved."
Daines, who has visited all five Central Asia states and attended Trump's C5+1 dinner in November, said, "I commend President Trump and the administration for recognizing this reality and making America's relationship with Central Asian countries a priority."
