United States President Donald Trump will host the heads of five Central Asian countries – Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan – in an annual summit in Washington, DC, on Thursday. The group, founded in 2015, is known as C5+1, which refers to the five Central Asian countries and the US.

According to the US Department of State, the forum aims to increase cooperation between Washington and the Central Asian countries to “advance regional solutions to global challenges” through “fair and reciprocal economic partnerships, increased energy security, and promoting peace through strength”.

“C5+1 working groups support three pillars of engagement: economy, energy, and security,” it added.

But Thursday’s meeting with the heads of former Soviet republics comes as both

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