The sixth meeting of foreign ministers in the Central Asia + Russia format took place in the Uzbek city of Samarkand on April14.
The meeting was chaired by Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs of Uzbekistan Bakhtiyor Saidov, and attended by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Tajik Foreign Minister Sirojiddin Muhriddin, Kazakh Foreign Minister Murat Nurtleu, Kyrgyz Foreign Minister Jeenbek Kulubayev and Turkmen First Deputy Foreign Minister Vepa Hajiyev.
Media reports say the parties discussed promising areas of six–party cooperation reflecting the agreements reached during the first Russia-Central Asia summit held in October 2022.
According to News Central Asia (nCA), the meeting participants discussed cooperation between Russia and Central Asia in the political and diplomatic, trade and economic, energy, transport, humanitarian and migration spheres, as well as in the field of health and sanitary and epidemiological welfare of the population.
After clarifying the list of specific projects and initiatives, the relevant ministries and departments of the six countries will begin their implementation, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
The heads of state and government of Russia and Central Asian countries will be informed about the progress of work in a multilateral format.
The Turkmen delegation stressed the need to implement the agreements reached between the Presidents of the Central Asian countries and Russia, as well as the initiatives on cooperation in the field of political, diplomatic, trade, economic, cultural and humanitarian cooperation, according to nCA.
In this context, the Deputy Foreign Minister of Turkmenistan reportedly proposed to prepare a draft six-party framework agreement in the field of international information security. He also noted the importance of creating a permanent Business format of the Central Asian countries and Russia.
In the cultural and humanitarian sphere, Turkmenistan initiates holding the first Festival of Culture and Arts of the peoples of Central Asia and Russia.
Regional and international issues were also discussed during the ministerial meeting with a special focus on the difficult situation in Afghanistan and its impact on neighboring countries.
The Russian side reportedly expressed support for the sovereign foreign policy pursued by the leadership of the Central Asian states, based on national security and development priorities, and the preservation of multifaceted mutually beneficial cooperation with Russia in vital areas.
