On Friday January 5, Uzbek Foreign Minister Abdulaziz Kamilov received Tajik Ambassador to Uzbekistan Sodiq Imomi, Kyrgyz Ambassador to Uzbekistan Daniyar Sydykov, Turkmen Ambassador to Uzbekistan Shiri Shiriyev and Kazakhstan’s Chargé d'Affaires Mursal-Nabi Tuyakbayev to acquaint them with proposals on implementation of initiatives aiming at promoting expansion of many-sided cooperation in the Central Asian region made by Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, according to the Uzbek MFA information department.
During the meeting, the sides reportedly also exchanged views on other issues related to the regional cooperation in Central Asia.
It is to be noted that Uzbekistan’s foreign policy has undergone major changes during Shavkat Mirziyoyev’s presidency. The neighboring Central Asian nations are becoming the main focus in an approach to forge improved regional political and economic cooperation.
In August 2017, Tashkent hosted a major international conference entitled “Central Asia Is the Main Priority of Uzbekistan’s Foreign Policy,” which attracted representatives of the UN, UNDP and OSCE as well as representatives of the diplomatic corps and experts from all Central Asian countries.
Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev formally announced Uzbekistan’s foreign policy priority at the United Nations General Assembly meeting in September last year when he said “Uzbekistan considers the region of Central Asia to be as the main priority of its foreign policy” and pointed to goals of “stability, sustainable development and good-neighborliness.”
On November 10, 2017, the foreign ministers of the five Central Asian nations — Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan – signed a Program on Mutual Cooperation for 2018-19.
The document that was signed in the Uzbek city of Samarkand during the 13th annual EU-Central Asia ministerial meeting outlines joint efforts to boost security, trade and economic cooperation, investment, transportation, energy, tourism, and culture across the region.
