At the eighth Consultative Meeting of the Heads of State of Central Asia and Azerbaijan on Oct. 8, Turkmen President Serdar Berdimuhamedov proposed focusing on five priority areas of cooperation. They concern strengthening the six-party partnership, ensuring peace and security, developing trade and economic ties, advancing technology and expanding humanitarian cooperation, Turkmen state media reported.
The Turkmen President identified the first priority as building the capacity of the six-party partnership and preserving and strengthening solidarity, unity and mutual support among the countries and peoples. The second priority is ensuring lasting peace, security in the region and neighboring areas, as well as creating conditions for effective political and diplomatic dialogue with partners on pressing international issues.
The third priority calls for giving new momentum to trade, economic and investment cooperation. The president also stressed the need to combine efforts to make Central Asia and Azerbaijan key and indispensable participants in transport and logistics, energy and industrial corridors along the East-West and North-South routes.
The fourth priority is creating conditions for accelerated technological development and the introduction of artificial intelligence so the countries can secure competitive positions globally in these fields. The fifth concerns expanding humanitarian, cultural and educational cooperation within the group, as well as developing such ties with other countries. In his speech, the president emphasized the importance of humanitarian cooperation for communication and mutual understanding among peoples.
Serdar Berdimuhamedov noted that the nature of relations among the six countries, along with the level of mutual trust, openness and understanding among their leaders, provides a solid foundation for addressing the priorities.
In diplomacy, the Turkmen President proposed establishing a format for regular six-party consultations among foreign ministries within the framework of the Consultative Meetings. In the economic sphere, he called for creating a new cooperation mechanism and proposed beginning work soon to agree on its specific parameters.
The President also stressed that humanitarian cooperation should remain a priority in relations among the countries. Serdar Berdimuhamedov proposed establishing six-party mechanisms in this area and developing substantive cooperation plans, confirming Turkmenistan’s readiness to fully support this approach.
