Gulf and Central Asian countries discuss strengthening ‘comprehensive cooperation’

Members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and Central Asian countries met in Tashkent on Monday to discuss ways to strengthen “comprehensive cooperation” between the two regions, Anadolu has reported.

Uzbekistan’s First Deputy Foreign Minister Bakhromjon Aloyev told journalists following the 2nd Foreign Ministerial Meeting of the Central Asia-GCC Strategic Dialogue that, “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.”

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 pointed out. He said that the meeting assessed the implementation of agreements reached during the first summit held in Jeddah in July last year.

The deputy minister added that all parties analysed the situation with regard to the implementation of the joint action plan agreed in Jeddah for the 2023-2027 period. He also said that the participants at Monday’s meeting noted that the results will set the stage for preparations for the 2nd Central Asia-GCC Summit at head of state level, which is scheduled to take place in Samarkand next year.

“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.” He explained that the next ministerial meeting of the Strategic Dialogue will be held in Kuwait in 2026.

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