Tajik Foreign Minister Sirojiddin Muhriddin today morning left for the Uzbek capital of Tashkent to discuss preparations for the second consultative meeting of the leaders of the Central Asian nations scheduled for November 29, a source within the Tajik MFA told Asia-Plus in an interview.
According to him, Sirojiddin Muhriddin and his counterparts from Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan will also discuss prospects of further expansion of regional cooperation and exchange views on a number of international and regional issues being of mutual interest.
Recall, Tajik President Emomali Rahmon will visit Tashkent on November 29 to participate in the second informal summit of the Central Asian leaders.
A source within the Tajik government says the leaders of the countries of the region will exchange views on the pressing problems in an informal atmosphere.
“The agenda of the second regional summit includes issues of expansion of political, economic and humanitarian cooperation between the Central Asian nations,” the source noted.
The Central Asian leaders will also discuss issues related to providing regional security and achieving accord in Afghanistan, the source added.
The holding of the second regional summit was initiated by Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev during the first regional summit that took place in the Kazakh capital, Astana, on March 15 last year.
Presidents of Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan as well as Turkmen Parliament Speaker participated in the first summit.
Central Asian experts consider that geographic factors could turn Uzbekistan into a vehicle for regional cooperation because it borders all four other Central Asian states — Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan — as well as Afghanistan.
