The Turkmen delegation led by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Rashid Meredov took part in the II Ministerial Meeting of the Strategic Dialogue “Cooperation Council of the Arab States of the Gulf - Central Asia” (GCC + Central Asia), which was held on April 15 in Tashkent, the press service of the Turkmen Foreign Ministry reports.

The forum was attended by the heads of foreign policy departments of the Central Asian countries and the GCC countries, including the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain.

The meeting participants discussed issues of strengthening comprehensive cooperation in trade, economic, investment, transport and communications, cultural, humanitarian, environmental and tourism sectors within the framework of the “GCC - Central Asia” format, as well as the status of implementation of the Joint Action Plan for 2023-2027.

In addition, at the meeting an exchange of views took place on current international and regional issues, as well as on the preparation of the upcoming “GCC-Central Asia” summit, which will be held in Uzbekistan in 2025.

The Turkmen delegation voiced initiatives to strengthen cooperation in the transport and communications, energy, trade, economic, cultural and humanitarian spheres.

Following the meeting in Tashkent, the heads of foreign affairs agencies of the countries of Central Asia and the Arab States of the Gulf adopted a Joint Statement.