DUSHANBE, October 28, 2015, Asia-Plus – US top diplomat, Secretary of State John Kerry, is expected to visit Tajikistan for the first time.

The Department of State said on October 27 that U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will travel to Austria, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan from October 28 to November 3.

Kerry will fly to Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan on Friday after talks on the crisis in Syria in Austria.

The Secretary of State will travel to Bishkek, Samarkand, Astana, Dushanbe, and Ashgabat to conduct bilateral discussions with senior government leaders in each country.  This will be Secretary Kerry’s first visit to Central Asia and the first-ever visit by a U.S. Secretary of State to all five Central Asian republics on the same trip.

In Bishkek, Kerry will participate in the opening of the new campus of the American University of Central Asia and dedicate the new chancery of the U.S. Embassy.

In Samarkand, the Secretary of State will participate in a joint meeting with the foreign ministers of all five countries.  This meeting, a new format for dialogue between the United States and the Central Asian republics known as the “C5+1,” will allow Washington’s top diplomat and ministers to discuss regional and global opportunities and challenges.

In Astana, Kerry will participate in the fourth meeting of the U.S.-Kazakhstan Strategic Partnership Dialogue and deliver remarks on Central Asia’s role in addressing global issues at Nazarbayev University.

While in Ashgabat and Dushanbe, the Secretary of State will discuss a range of bilateral and regional issues of mutual interest with senior government officials.