The states of Central Asia (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan) have recently been deepening their regional coordination, as well as expanding their efforts to deal with outside powers jointly, a format known as C5 plus, indicating the five Central Asian states and a foreign counterpart. 

Only in the last month, Central Asian leaders met with Italy’s Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, to expand ties, before congregating some weeks later for a summit with China’s leader, Xi Jinping. Now, Central Asian diplomats are advancing a similar dialogue platform with the five Nordic countries, which would make it, fittingly, a C5 5 format. There is more promise in such a format of cooperation than meets the eye.

For much of the first quarter-century of independence, the Central Asian states turned inward, safeguarding their sovereignties and identities, sometimes defining themselves in opposition to one another. This was a typical post-colonial journey, marked by efforts to consolidate statehood. Efforts to develop regional cooperation were made, but ultimately failed to bear fruit. 

A remarkable shift has occurred in recent years, transforming the region’s approach toward cooperation and development. The leaders of all Central Asian states now meet for annual summits to coordinate policies on regional issues, such as trade, transport, energy, water, ecology, and security. 

The revived spirit of cooperation has already produced tangible results. Intra-regional trade increased by $11 billion between 2019 and 2024, with room for further growth. Shifts in international transportation routes and supply chains, partly as a result of Russia’s war in Ukraine, have led to an increased regional focus on issues related to the transit of goods and raw materials along the so-called Middle Corridor. 

The long-unresolved border disputes between Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan have now been handled between the states without external involvement. The states are cooperating to address the equally delicate matter of water resource management that considers the needs of both upstream and downstream countries in the region. 

Enhanced regional cohesiveness is also enabling the Central Asian states to engage with the world not only as individual nations, but as a united region. The so-called “Central Asia plus” (C5 1) platforms have now been established between the five Central Asian states and no fewer than ten external partners, including both individual countries and organizations. The joint Central Asian approach to key global partners has enhanced the region’s international visibility and agency. Central Asia is increasingly becoming a region that foreign powers engage with without sowing intra-regional divisions, as often happened in the past. 

The EU’s increasingly proactive position toward Central Asia testifies to the region’s growing strategic importance in a rapidly changing world. The first-ever summit between leaders of the EU and the five countries of Central Asia in April 2025 upgraded EU-Central Asia relations to the level of a strategic partnership. For Germany and Italy, interaction through the EU does not........

© The National Interest