It is necessary to activate coop between all non-nuclear zones of the world - Abdrakhmanov

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan Kairat Abdrakhmanov, of Kyrgyzstan Erlan Abdyldayev, of Tajikistan Sirodzhidin Mukhriddin, of Uzbekistan Abdulaziz Kamilov and Deputy Foreign Minister of Turkmenistan Berdyniyaz Myatiev discussed issues of regional cooperation in Central Asia.

"The fruitful holding of the first working (consultative) meeting of the Heads of the Central Asian states in Astana marked the beginning of a new stage in the regional relations. President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev attaches great importance to uniting the potential of the countries of Central Asia, increasing intraregional trade, ensuring security in the region and bringing our peoples closer", Kairat Abdrakhmanov said.

The Kazakh Foreign Minister stressed in his speech that regular meetings at the level of the Foreign Ministers should serve as an effective platform for discussion and resolution of common problems. It was proposed to start practical implementation of the final protocol of the Astana meeting.

"Central Asia is a zone free of nuclear weapons, and our region has an opportunity to take the lead on this issue. We need to intensify cooperation between all the world's non-nuclear zones", Abdrakhmanov said.

The Minister said that the initiative of the Head of State to hold the Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zones Summit was aimed at securing the role of Central Asia as a unique nucleus of cooperation between the non-nuclear zones. Kazakhstan as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council expressed its readiness to make efforts in promoting this issue on the UN platform.

During the meeting, the Kazakh side supported the activities of Turkmenistan as the chairman of the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea, which is the only institutional dialogue platform in Central Asia at the level of the Heads of State.

The issues of regional security and joint struggle against transnational challenges and threats were raised, the press service of Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported.

The participants welcomed contribution of the countries of the region to stabilize the situation in Afghanistan and cooperation of the Central Asian countries with the IRA. In this context, Kairat Abdrakhmanov noted the importance of holding the Regional Conference "Women's Empowerment in Afghanistan" in Astana this September and proposed to organize a high-level OSCE meeting on Afghanistan in 2019.

The Foreign Ministers expressed their common opinion on the importance of organizing meetings in this format for developing common approaches to solving common regional issues and strengthening five-way cooperation.

It was noted that the positions of the Central Asian countries are very close on many issues of regional cooperation and it was suggested to intensify the dialogue of the countries of the region.

The Ministers noted the advisability of holding regular five-party inter-ministerial consultations and expert meetings for the preparation of the next Central Asian consultation meeting scheduled for holding on the eve of Nauryz in 2019 in Uzbekistan.

Following the meeting, the participants adopted a Joint Statement.

Photo: press service of Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs