Introducing B5+1 – Center for International Private Enterprise

An Initiative Under CIPE’s Program IBECA – Improving the Business Environment in Central Asia

Strengthening Central Asian Regional Integration Through Businesses and Markets: The Outline of the B5+1 Forum

Business 5+1 (B5+1) is the public-private business dialogue platform between the five Central Asian states (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan) and the United States. The first of its kind in Central Asia, B5+1 is envisioned as the private-sector-led counterpart to the C5+1, the diplomatic platform between the same governments founded in 2015. On September 21, 2023, the Heads of State of C5+1 affirmed in their Joint Statement their commitment to the establishment of B5+1 in order to “accelerate regional cooperation and connectivity [and]… advance efforts to create a more favorable business environment for U.S. private sector trade and investment in Central Asia.” B5+1 aims to fulfill these commitments by bringing together the leading voices of business from each of the Central Asian states and facilitating an open discussion on the primary factors standing in their way of building business and investment connections with each other, with the United States, and with the global economy. As such, the ultimate goal of B5+1 is to foster trade, investment, and economic integration in Central Asia so that the region may become a destination of its own.