WASHINGTON, Oct 18 — It’s dealmaking time: despite the roiling geopolitical tensions embroiling Washington on several fronts, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio headed to Central and South Asia yesterday to boost commercial ties — and gain an edge over Russia and China.
With the United States mired in its war with Iran, and the conflict in Ukraine showing no signs of abating, Rubio has stepped up his foreign travel with recent trips to Europe and Latin America, smack in the middle of the US midterm election campaign.
He has largely ceded control of the contentious Iran, Ukraine and Gaza situations to US President Donald Trump’s special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.
Rubio was instead leading a massive delegation of 200 business leaders to Uzbekistan, where he will take part on Monday in a ministerial meeting of five Central Asian countries.
