Central Asian, GCC countries discuss ways to strengthen ‘comprehensive cooperation’

By Burc Eruygur

ISTANBUL (AA) - Central Asian and Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) nations on Monday met in Uzbekistan’s capital Tashkent and discussed ways to strengthen “comprehensive cooperation” between the two regions.

“At the meeting, issues of strengthening mutually beneficial and comprehensive cooperation … in political, security, trade, economic, investment, transport and logistics, Environmental Protection, green energy, cultural and humanitarian and other spheres were discussed in detail,” Uzbek First Deputy Foreign Minister Bakhromjon Aloyev said at a press briefing following the 2nd Foreign Ministerial Meeting of the Central Asia-GCC Strategic Dialogue.

Expressing that the high-level participation in Monday’s ministerial meeting is a testament to the growing prestige of the strategic dialogue format between Central Asia and the GCC, Aloyev said the meeting assessed the implementation of agreements reached during the 1st Central Asia-GCC Summit held in Jeddah in July 2023.

Aloyev further said that all parties analyzed the situation with regards to the implementation of the joint action plan reached at the Jeddah summit for the 2023-2027 period.

He also said that the participants in today’s meeting noted that the results of their meeting will set the stage for preparations for the 2nd Central Asia-GCC Summit at the level of heads of state, which is scheduled to take place in the city of Samarkand in 2025.

“The ministers also exchanged views on current international and regional issues, in particular Afghanistan, the situation in the Middle East, the Palestine-Israel conflict, and a number of other topics,” Aloyev went on to say.

He added that the next edition of the ministerial meeting of the Central Asia-GCC Strategic Dialogue will be held in Kuwait in 2026.