Tashkent Hosted Second Ministerial Meeting Between Central Asian and Gulf Arab Foreign Ministers
On April 15, the capital city of Uzbekistan, Tashkent, played host to the second ministerial meeting under the banner of the dialogue platform "Central Asia - Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)." The gathering brought together foreign ministers from Central Asian nations and the Arab states of the Persian Gulf.
Heading the delegation from Kazakhstan was Alibek Bakaev, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
The discussions during the event revolved around evaluating the current state and future prospects of interregional cooperation, along with addressing pressing international matters.
During his address, Alibek Bakaev, representing Kazakhstan, highlighted the considerable potential inherent in the dialogue platform and put forth concrete suggestions for enhancing collaboration across trade, economic, cultural, humanitarian, and scientific domains.
In particular, Bakaev stressed the significance of bolstering trade ties between the two regions and extended invitations to Gulf states to actively engage in joint investment endeavors within Kazakhstan and other Central Asian nations.
Moreover, Kazakhstan introduced several initiatives, including the expansion of the Islamic Organization for Food Security’s activities, leveraging the capabilities of the International Technopark of IT startups “Astana Hub,” and hosting the 5th World Nomad Games in Kazakhstan in September of the current year.
Following the deliberations, the participating nations adopted a Joint Statement aimed at fortifying comprehensive cooperation across key sectors between the countries of both regions.
It’s worth noting that the “Central Asia – GCC” dialogue platform was inaugurated in 2022. The inaugural ministerial meeting convened in September 2022 in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, while the platform’s first summit took place in July 2023 in Jeddah, with the participation of Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.
