Tajik President Emomali Rahmon arrived in Kazakhstan’s capital, Astana, yesterday afternoon for participation in the 6th Consultative Meeting of the Heads of State of Central Asia and the first summit between the countries of Central Asia and Japan.
The Tajik president’s official website says Presidential Aide on Foreign Policy, Foreign Minister, Minister of Economic Development and Trade, Finance Minister, Minister of Industry and New Technologies and some other officials are accompanying the president on his visit to Kazakhstan.
Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev will also participate in the Consultative Meeting of the Heads of State of Central Asia.
The summit is reportedly expected to adopt the regional cooperation development concept Central Asia – 2020. The heads of state sill discuss issues related to further expansion of trade and economic cooperation, development of the transportation and logistics infrastructure, and strengthening of stability and security in the region.
The idea that Central Asia’s nations should have a mechanism to meet together without an external power managing the affair is not new. The then Kazakhstani President Nursultan Nazarbayev reiterated calls for the integration of Central Asian countries as a way to jointly ensure the security and prosperity of the region on November 13, 2017, while answering questions at the 3rd session of the Astana Club, a Kazakhstani government-backed international forum aimed at discussing Eurasian issues. Kazakhstan proposed hosting a Central Asian leaders' summit in Astana in October 2017.
The first Central Asia summit took place in March 2018; the second Central Asian summit took place in November 2019; the third consultative meeting of the heads of state of Central Asia took place in Turkmenistan in early August 2021; the 4th consultative meeting of Central Asian leaders took place at the Kyrgyz resort town of Cholpon-Ata on July 21, 2022. The fifth Central Asian summit took place in Dushanbe on September 14, 2023.
Launched in 2004, the “Central Asia plus Japan” Dialogue is a political initiative between Japan and the Central Asian nations of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, with the goal to create “a new framework for cooperation, thereby elevating relations between Japan and Central Asia to a new level”. The dialogue, according to the Japanese Foreign Ministry, is also meant to serve as a forum to promote inter-regional cooperation. Turkmenistan, maintaining its policy of neutrality, participates only as an observer.
Subsequently, South Korea, the EU, the United States, China, India, and Russia all adopted similar “5+1” frameworks.
The Voice of America (VOA) reports that Japan’s foreign ministry said on X that the meeting marks the 20th anniversary of the Central Asia + Japan Dialogue, though it is the first such meeting at this level. “The friendships built over these last two decades will form the foundation for further cooperation & partnerships for decades to come,” the posting said.
Japan’s Foreign Ministry says “…Prime Minister Kishida will attend the first ever summit meeting of the “Central Asia plus Japan” Dialogue, which was pioneered by Japan in 2004 and marks its 20th anniversary this year.” He reportedly intends to further deepen the partnership and mutually beneficial cooperation that has been built up to date.
