Soon after independence, the leaders of the four former Soviet Central Asian Republics met in Tashkent and declared that the definition of Central Asia should include Kazakhstan as well as the original four included by the Soviets.
Pouco despoís da independencia, os líderes das catro ex Repúblicas Soviéticas de Asia Central reunironse en Tashkent e declararon que a definición de Asia Central debe incluír Kazajstán, así como as catro incluídas polos soviéticos .