On September 14, 2023, Serdar Berdimuhamedov, the President of Turkmenistan, took part in the Consultative Meeting of Central Asian Heads of State. This gathering was also attended by the President of Kazakhstan, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, the President of Kyrgyz Republic, Sadyr Japarov, the President of Uzbekistan, Shavkat Mirziyoyev, and the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, who was invited as an honorary guest.
President Berdimuhamedov expressed his gratitude to the President of Tajikistan, Emomali Rahmon, for the warm hospitality and ideal conditions for the successful joint meeting. He highlighted the importance of the Consultative Meetings of the Heads of State of Central Asia as an interstate mechanism that guarantees the preservation of a friendly atmosphere, good neighborliness, and constructive regional collaboration in the interests of the people.
The head of state also pointed out the special significance of the UN General Assembly Resolution of July 28, 2022, which declared Central Asia a Zone of Peace, Trust and Cooperation. He went on to say that the adoption of this document is seen as an essential step towards fortifying the atmosphere of mutual understanding and cooperation in the region, transforming Central Asia into a space of lasting peace and safety for tackling economic, environmental, humanitarian issues, and achieving Sustainable Development Goals.
President Berdimuhamedov also mentioned that Turkmenistan would continue to actively work in this direction during the upcoming 78th session of the UN General Assembly. He said that his country intends to propose a number of initiatives for consideration by the world community, including those directly related to the development of the region. Among the initiatives mentioned by the head of state was the creation of a meeting of the Dialogue on Security and Cooperation in Central Asia, under the auspices of the UN.
He also proposed to consider the issue of creating a Central Asian Chamber of Commerce to coordinate joint steps in the development of trade, ensure the commercial interests of all potential economic entities in the Central Asian market, and attract investment for the implementation of large regional projects.
President Berdimuhamedov also spoke about the need to combine the advantages of the Central Asian states, such as their great potential for innovative growth, good scientific schools, and technological developments, in order to exchange experience, knowledge, skills, and jointly study and implement advanced foreign competencies. He suggested creating a Council of Central Asian Countries on New Technologies to coordinate joint efforts in this direction.
The head of Turkmenistan also mentioned that currently, the region is witnessing the formation of political, legal and economic conditions for a sustainable energy partnership, focused both on meeting intraregional demand and on accessing world markets through international transit corridors. He said that Turkmenistan is ready to supply its natural gas and electricity to the countries of Central Asia and through their territories to foreign markets on mutually beneficial terms. He proposed establishing a new form of five-sided interaction, the Energy Dialogue of Central Asian countries, to consider this offer.
President Berdimuhamedov also highlighted the transport sector as a strategic component of cooperation. He said that joint efforts are gradually creating favorable conditions for freight and passenger traffic between the states of Central Asia, as well as with other regions of the Eurasian continent.
Finally, he emphasized the importance of effective interaction in cultural and humanitarian issues, and said that today, there is significant progress and positive experience in the successful holding of joint meetings of representatives of the creative intelligentsia, scientific conferences, exhibitions, and other events.
The results of the Fifth Consultative Meeting of the Heads of State of Central Asia are reflected in the adopted Joint Statement, which confirms the readiness of the parties for further full-format cooperation. In addition, the Agreement on strengthening the interconnectedness of land transport in Central Asia, the Dushanbe communiqué of the first meeting of the ministers of transport of the Central Asian states, the Agreement between the Central Asian states on general directions of youth policy, and the Regulations on the Council of National Coordinators for Consultative Meetings were signed.