Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan Rashid Meredov on Thursday participated in the first ministerial meeting in Central Asia – China format via a video link, Turkmen Foreign Ministry said in a press release.
The foreign ministers of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and China took part in the session.
During the constructive dialogue, the participants discussed a number of key issues on the promotion of cooperation in political-diplomatic field, and considered collaboration in trade-economic and cultural-humanitarian spheres.
One of the main topics of discussion was the global pandemic, which negatively affected all the areas of life. The ministers exchanged views and informed about the experience gained in prevention methods and treatment of COVID-19 diseases. The parties considered the opportunities for mitigating the socio-economic impacts of the pandemic.
In his speech, Rashid Meredov noted the significance of cooperation in such format and proposed to specify the consultative mechanisms in the framework of CA – China. He underlined that the countries of Central Asia and China possess powerful resources, economic, scientific and industrial potential through which they can make even greater contribution to the provision of peace, stable development and security.
The parties discussed the cooperation in the framework of international structures, emphasized the significance of mutual support within the UN platform. The officials considered the Afghan issues and possibilities for assisting the advancement of peace process in Afghanistan.
The foreign ministers also discussed the opportunities for expanding cooperation in the fields of energy, transport, high technologies, agriculture, science and medicine.
Upon the outcomes of the session, the sides adopted the Joint Statement of the Central Asia – China Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in a video conference format.
