President Donald Trump on Thursday hosted the leaders of five Central Asian nations for the first time, as the United States seeks to gain influence in a region close to both Russia and China.

Trump called Central Asia "an extremely wealthy region," stressing that he wants to make the US partnership with the five landlocked countries — Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan — stronger.

"One of the key items on our agenda is critical minerals," Trump said at the so-called C5+1 meeting. Launched in 2015, the C5+1 platform serves as the primary forum through which the US engages collectively with Central Asian nations.

Central Asia's vast yet mostly still unexploited mineral wealth — which includes uranium, copper, gold and rare earths — is garnering global attention amid rising competition for critical minerals as the West moves to diversify supply chains away from Moscow and Beijing. 

Central Asian leaders praise Trump

The meeting with Trump takes place a few months after the five leaders held separate summits with Russia's Vladimir Putin and China's Xi Jinping.

The five nations, which gained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, have put on a united front in Washington.

Kazakhstan's President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev hailed the talks as the "beginning of a new era of interaction between the United States and Central Asia."

Astana also took the symbolic step of becoming the first country to join the Abraham Accords since the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan signed up to normalize ties with Israel in 2020.

Meanwhile, Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev gushed over Trump.

"None of the presidents of the United States of America ever treated Central Asia as you do," he said. "In Uzbekistan, we call you the president of the world."

Later that evening, Trump announced "an incredible Trade and Economic Deal" with Uzbekistan on Truth Social. He said Tashkent planned to invest more than $100 billion over the next decade in key US sectors, including critical minerals and aviation.

Washington and the other Central Asian countries were also expected to sign agreements to cooperate on critical minerals.

Edited by: Kieran Burke