President of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhamedov participated in the Seventh Consultative Meeting of the Heads of State of Central Asia, which took place on November 16 in Tashkent under the chairmanship of President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev.

The summit was also attended by President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, President of Kyrgyzstan Sadyr Japarov, President of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon, and Kakha Imnadze, Head of the UN Regional Center for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia.

The agenda included discussions on further strengthening regional cooperation and implementing joint projects and initiatives in priority areas.

At the beginning of the summit, Shavkat Mirziyoyev announced Azerbaijan's accession to the Consultative Meetings as a full participant. As the leader of Uzbekistan emphasized, this decision fully meets the interests of our peoples, who are firmly bound by a shared history, family ties, and spiritual and cultural affinities.

He also expressed confidence that this strategic step will give the Consultative Meetings a powerful impetus, opening new horizons for expanding trade, economic, investment, cultural, and humanitarian cooperation, as well as developing consolidated solutions on sustainable development issues.

The President of Uzbekistan congratulated the President of Turkmenistan on assuming the chairmanship of the Consultative Meeting of Heads of State in 2026, which will be held in a new format, "Central Asia and Azerbaijan."

Then, the leaders of Central Asia and Azerbaijan spoke, as did Kakha Imnadze, Head of the UN Regional Centre for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia, who read a message from UN Secretary-General António Guterres.

ORIENT