Rubio is in Uzbekistan to promote US ties and trade with Central Asia

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is in Uzbekistan promoting trade and ties with Central Asia

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio was in Uzbekistan on Monday to promote trade and ties with Central Asia, during a trip that came amid rumblings that America’s top diplomat is ignoring pressing matters in favor of politically safer visits and meetings.

The trip, which involves a stop in India later this week, seeks to promote U.S. economic and security ties with Central and South Asia . But it has only tangential links to the Trump administration’s current main foreign policy dilemmas in the Middle East and with the Russia-Ukraine war .