By Burc Eruygur
ISTANBUL (AA) - Kazakhstan on Tuesday hosted the second Germany-Central Asia summit in the capital Astana, which saw the participation of all five presidents from the region and visiting German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
Ahead of the meeting, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev welcomed Scholz to the Independence Palace hosting the summit, in addition to his Kyrgyz, Tajik, Turkmen, and Uzbek counterparts.
Speaking in an opening address to the summit, Tokayev thanked Scholz and his Central Asian counterparts for their participation in the meeting, and that dialogue in the format, which was first launched in Berlin last September, has “become regular and trusting,” said a statement by the press service of the Kazakh presidency.
“I consider this evidence of the interest and desire of the Central Asian states and Germany to comprehensively develop a regional strategic partnership,” Tokayev was quoted as saying.
Expressing that Germany’s socio-economic, scientific, and technological progress is a good example for many countries, Tokayev said they highly appreciate Germany's commitment to developing an equal partnership with all countries in Central Asia.
He further said that increasing trade turnover and expanding cooperation in energy are two major priorities for them, indicating that Kazakhstan is ready to increase oil exports to the German market and develop green energy.
“Our country, together with Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan, is developing a project to build a line for the transmission of green energy along the bottom of the Caspian Sea and further to European countries. We invite German partners to consider the possibility of participating in this strategic project,” Tokayev also said.
He went on to note the bolstering of industrial cooperation, strengthening transport and logistics interconnectivity, and the development of scientific and educational ties as other key priorities.
“Our countries closely interact in a multilateral format, including within the framework of the United Nations. We intend to continue to resolutely support the efforts of this uncontested universal organization in the fight against terrorism, extremism, illegal migration and climate change, and peacekeeping and disarmament,” he added.
The statement said a joint statement was adopted following the talks.
Scholz arrived in Astana as part of a three-day official visit to Central Asia, which commenced with a visit to neighboring Uzbekistan on Sunday.