Sergio Gor, the U.S. special envoy for South and Central Asia, is on a trip to Turkmenistan as the United States expands its relationships with Central Asian countries.
Gor is traveling to Turkmenistan on Thursday and Friday and will meet top government officials and business leaders to discuss regional stability and economic collaboration, the U.S. State Department said.
“The United States looks forward to engaging with Turkmenistan on new opportunities for collaboration that will benefit both our nations and contribute to prosperity and security across the region,” the agency said.
Turkmenistan has some of the largest natural gas reserves in the world, though the government’s tight internal controls have made it difficult for multinational companies to operate there.
Gor and U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau traveled to Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan in October, ahead of a Washington summit that President Donald Trump hosted the following month for the leaders of those two countries, as well as Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan.
The United States is building deeper trade ties with Central Asia, aiming to benefit from its energy and other natural resources while contesting Russian and Chinese influence in the region. For their part, Central Asia countries are diversifying their relationships with the big powers while looking for opportunities to collaborate as a regional bloc.
