Marco Rubio will lead a US commercial delegation comprised of over 200 business leaders. (EPA Images pic)WASHINGTON: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will this week lead a large business delegation to Uzbekistan and join a ministerial meeting with five Central Asian nations, before traveling to India, the State Department said Tuesday.

Traveling between Oct 17 and 22, Rubio will first go to Samarkand, Uzbekistan, for a "C5+1 Ministerial" and bilateral meetings with Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

"On this historic visit, Secretary Rubio will lead a US commercial delegation comprised of over 200 business leaders, ushering in a new era of strengthened commercial cooperation for the US and Central Asia," a State Department statement said.