NEW DELHI: US President Joe Biden met leaders of the Central Asian countries in the C5+1 dialogue format at UN headquarters in New York.

The leaders included Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Kyrgyzstan’s President Sadyr Japarov, Tajikistan’s President Emomali Rahmon, Turkmenistan's President Serdar Berdimuhamedow and Uzbekistan’s President Shavkat Mirziyoyev.

The summit marked the first-ever C5+1 presidential gathering and occurred on the sidelines of the 78th session of the UN General Assembly.

They discussed a range of issues, including security, trade and investment, regional connectivity, the need to respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all nations, and ongoing reforms to improve governance and the rule of law, a readout by the White House said.  

Biden welcomed his counterparts’ views on how the nations can work together to further strengthen the Central Asian nations’ sovereignty, resilience, and prosperity while also advancing human rights through our C5+1 partnership.  

He thanked his counterparts for their partnership on regional security challenges and committed to continued collaboration on border security, counterterrorism, and law enforcement issues.  

Biden also advocated for continued support of civil society and women’s economic empowerment activities and encouraged a new C5+1 focus on mainstreaming disability rights across all sectors.