# Uzbekistan and U.S. Sign $12 Billion in Deals as Tashkent Deepens Western Ties

*Monday, October 19, 2026 at 2:07 PM UTC — Hamer Intelligence Services Desk*

**Published**: 2026-10-19T14:07:36.490Z (1h ago)
**Category**: geopolitics | **Region**: Central Asia
**Importance**: 8/10
**Sources**: OSINT
**Permalink**: https://hamerintel.com/data/articles/20971.md
**Source**: https://hamerintel.com/summaries

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**Deck**: During a visit by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and a large business delegation, Uzbekistan agreed 54 deals worth about $12 billion across critical minerals, energy, transport, finance and technology, and joined NASA’s Artemis Accords.

A packed signing ceremony in Samarkand has given Uzbekistan and the United States a new economic roadmap – and signalled a broader shift in Central Asia’s external ties.

Tashkent and Washington agreed 54 deals valued at about $12 billion in sectors including critical minerals, energy, transport, finance and technology. The agreements came during a visit by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who led a delegation of more than 200 American business leaders for talks with Central Asian foreign ministers.

The sectors covered go to the heart of current strategic competition. Critical minerals underpin batteries and electronics. Energy and transport projects shape how resources and goods leave landlocked Central Asian states. Finance and technology agreements open more space for U.S. banks and tech firms in a region where Russian and Chinese companies have been deeply embedded.

Uzbekistan also joined NASA’s Artemis Accords, a U.S.-led framework for cooperation on space exploration and norms for behaviour in space. The step adds a symbolic space dimension to a partnership that already spans mines, pipelines and transport corridors.

For Uzbekistan, the appeal lies in modernising infrastructure, diversifying export routes and reducing reliance on any single external partner. For the United States, the deals create commercial opportunities and firmer political links in a region that has long leaned toward Moscow and Beijing.

The agreements don’t replace Russia’s or China’s influence in Central Asia, but they mark a clearer U.S. economic presence. Follow-through will matter: which projects move from paper to construction, how quickly money starts to flow and whether rival powers respond with new offers of their own.

Early signs will come from concrete announcements on mining and transport projects, and from any Russian or Chinese efforts to match or undercut the new deals with loans, energy discounts or security initiatives.