This morning, President of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhamedov left for the Kyrgyz Republic on a working visit to participate in the fourth Consultative Meeting of the heads of Central Asian States.

At the International Airport of the Turkmen capital, the head of state was escorted by officials.

...The Presidential airliner landed at Issyk-Kul International Airport, where the National flags of the countries participating in the Fourth Consultative Meeting are raised on flagpoles.

An Honor Guard is lined up along the carpet leading from the plane’s ramp. In the air harbor, the head of state was met by the Prime Minister of the Kyrgyz Republic and other officials.

From the airport, the motorcade of the head of Turkmenistan proceeded to the state residence of the Kyrgyz leader, located in the city of Cholpon-Ata. President Serdar Berdimuhamedov met with President Sadyr Zhaparov here.

Warmly and cordially greeting each other, the heads of Turkmenistan and Kyrgyzstan were photographed against the background of the National flags of the two countries.

Then the Kyrgyz leader invited President Serdar Berdimuhamedov to go to the Hall of Bilateral meetings, where negotiations were held with the participation of members of government delegations.

Warmly welcoming the distinguished guest, President Sadyr Zhaparov thanked the head of Turkmenistan for accepting the invitation to visit Kyrgyzstan to participate in the regular Consultative Meeting. The current negotiations within the framework of the Summit are designed to give a new impetus to the intensification of cooperation between our countries, which is based on strong ties of friendship and good neighborliness, principles of equality, respect and mutual support.

Our states are celebrating the 30^th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties this year, President Sadyr Zhaparov said, noting with great satisfaction the high level and strategic nature of bilateral cooperation.

Emphasizing the great contribution of Arkadag Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov to the strengthening of the Kyrgyz-Turkmen partnership, the head of the friendly country said that he appreciates the warm, trusting relations with the Chairman of the Halk Maslakhaty of the Milli Gengesh and conveyed his best wishes to him.

Thanking the head of the Kyrgyz Republic for the invitation to visit a friendly country to participate in the next Consultative Meeting of the heads of Central Asian states, for the warm welcome and hospitality, President Serdar Berdimuhamedov noted that the Summit is a new form of political communication at the highest state level. At the same time, it was emphasized that this format allows discussing pressing issues of the development of the Central Asian region.

In continuation of the talk, President Serdar Berdimuhamedov conveyed President Sadyr Zhaparov warm words of greeting from the Chairman of the Halk Maslakhaty of the Milli Gengesh Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, who addressed wishes of well-being and prosperity to the entire Kyrgyz people.

The head of state also expressed gratitude to the leader of the fraternal country for congratulations on the occasion of his election to the Presidency.

Speaking about the bilateral dialogue, President Serdar Berdimuhamedov noted that Turkmenistan pays great attention to cooperation with the Kyrgyz Republic. Special emphasis was placed on the high level of political, diplomatic, trade, economic, cultural and humanitarian cooperation in the modern epoch.

Then, during the meeting, a wide range of issues related to the prospects of the Turkmen-Kyrgyz partnership in the context of the implementation of previously reached agreements, priorities of socio-economic development of both states were discussed.

At the end of the meeting, Presidents Serdar Berdimuhamedov and Sadyr Zhaparov, once again emphasizing the inviolability of traditionally friendly relations between Turkmenistan and Kyrgyzstan, addressed wishes of peace, prosperity and well-being to the peoples of both countries.

Then the Consultative Meeting of the heads of the five states took place.

In the lobby of the building, the Presidents of the Central Asian countries exchange friendly handshakes. After the traditional ceremony of joint photographing of the leaders of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan against the background of the official banner of the Summit and the State flags of the participating countries, the five-sided summit meeting was held in the large meeting room.

Opening the meeting and welcoming his foreign colleagues to the hospitable Kyrgyz land, President Sadyr Zhaparov made a special emphasis on the fact that President Serdar Berdimuhamedov is taking part in the Consultative Meeting of the Leaders of the Central Asian countries for the first time. In this regard, the firm conviction was expressed that the head of the fraternal state will continue the mission of Arkadag Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov and will facilitate the development of Turkmenistan.

Then, having approved the agenda, the participants of the Consultative Meeting began their speeches.

In his speech, President Serdar Berdimuhamedov thanked President Sadyr Zhaparov for the invitation to take part in the current meeting, hospitality and warm welcome.

The head of state also expressed gratitude to the leaders of the countries of the Central Asian region for congratulations on the occasion of election to the post of President of Turkmenistan.

With all the acuteness, there has arisen the key issue – ensuring security. Unfortunately, meanwhile we cannot state that peace in the wide Eurasian space is unshakable, and stability has acquired an irreversible character, the head of Turkmenistan said. Underlining that there are threats, they manifest themselves in different forms and under different circumstances, President Serdar Berdimuhamedov highlighted the main ones.

Firstly, these are attempts to destabilize the internal political situation in the states of our region.

“We see the consequences they lead to,” the head of state noted, stating that this requires everyone to be united and determined to resist them together.

In this context, it was confirmed Turkmenistan’s firm support for the timely and decisive actions of the leaders of the Central Asian States aimed at preserving peace in the country, protecting the life and security of citizens, and ensuring the stability of state and public institutions.

Secondly, these are attempts of extremist and radical elements to infiltrate into Central Asia, as well as terrorist danger, drug trafficking, and other types of illegal activities.

Thirdly, it is the possible negative impact on the situation in Central Asia of the consequences of military-political conflicts taking place in relative proximity to the borders of our region.

The fourth, it is the illegal use of information technologies, the imposition of ideas and attitudes from the outside being inconsistent with the historical traditions of the peoples of Central Asia, basic values and age-old foundations of their lives, President Serdar Berdimuhamedov continued.

The outlined challenges require taking effective measures to create a solid and long-term security system in the region, neutralizing potential threats that could hinder or slow down our progress. We must make sure together that Central Asia remains a zone of stability and trust, unexposed to peace and development risks, the head of Turkmenistan stated.

The head of Turkmenistan also proposed to commission the foreign ministries of the Central Asian states to develop a Roadmap on the entire spectrum of the security agenda for the next two years with the participation of the UN Regional Center for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia.

To effectively protect the information space in the region, it was announced an initiative, aimed at strengthening professional ties between the state information structures of our countries. It was emphasized that perhaps the Code of Conduct should be developed while covering sensitive topics.

In this context, President Serdar Berdimuhamedov noted, it is possible to consider the idea of holding a Central Asian media forum, dedicated to security issues with the participation of state news agencies, the press, and electronic media. Assuming that this will give a good incentive to create a positive information background, a better understanding of the real situation in the region, the course and direction of the processes taking place here, the efforts of states and governments to ensure conditions for the peaceful and stable development of Central Asia, the well-being of our peoples.

The most important part of cooperation in the field of regional security is still joint work in the Afghan direction, the head of Turkmenistan highlighted. As neighboring states of Afghanistan, which have special historical ties with it, we need to continue to step up efforts aimed at stabilizing the situation in this country, creating conditions for achieving national accord through peaceful dialogue, promoting international efforts to combat terrorism, and rendering economic and humanitarian assistance to the people of Afghanistan. In this context, it was noted that Turkmenistan welcomes the International Conference on Afghanistan scheduled for the end of July this year in Tashkent.

Turkmenistan is currently preparing initiatives for the UN to declare 2023 the International Year of “Dialogue as a Guarantee of Peace” and to develop a resolution of the General Assembly “Zone of Peace and Confidence in Central Asia”, the head of state said, emphasizing that he banks upon all Central Asian countries’ support of these constructive proposals.

Turkmenistan’s neutrality is reasonably considered as an important factor in conflict prevention. The constructive role of Turkmen neutrality was recognized and confirmed by two resolutions of the UN General Assembly, adopted with the co-sponsorship by all Central Asian states. In this regard, it is proposed to use this factor in the further practical implementation by our countries of their international agenda to strengthen universal peace and stability.

As noted, our countries form a single geo-economic space, which implies the development and consolidation of cooperation based on a common vision of their place and role in continental and global processes, awareness and clear formulation of goals, the use of available objective opportunities and advantages to achieve them.

Turkmenistan believes that today the trade, economic and investment cooperation of the Central Asian states should acquire a strategic orientation, namely, turning it into one of the foundations for the formation of a new geo-economic landscape of Eurasia.

The cornerstone of this strategy is transport and logistics. I believe, President Serdar Berdimuhamedov highlighted, that the efforts of our countries can and should be aimed at achieving the main goal – the creation of a powerful and modern infrastructure that would ensure the unification of the transport systems of Central Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and the Asia-Pacific region. At the same time, it was confirmed Turkmenistan’s readiness to work together on the development of the Central Asia–Caspian–Black Sea and Central Asia–Persian Gulf transport routes.

“In general, speaking about the transport importance of the region, we can reasonably set an ambitious but realistic goal of turning it into an integral part of the revival of the Great Silk Road,” President Serdar Berdimuhamedov said.

We look forward to continuing and expanding our partnership in the energy sector. We have already implemented a major energy project – the Turkmenistan–Uzbekistan–Kazakhstan–China gas pipeline as one of our major accomplishments, the head of state stated, declaring his readiness to consider together with partners the possibilities for a significant increase in energy supplies and expansion of their transit configuration.

Central Asian industrial cooperation is among the most important issues. Our countries have vast natural resources, strong industrial and technological potential. Their unification, the creation of partnership production lines, “integration corridors” are an urgent topic, the head of Turkmenistan continued, noting that private business should play a significant role in this.

As it was emphasized, it is necessary to launch targeted business forums of our countries, during which entrepreneurs could communicate directly, independently build partnership schemes where it is beneficial and expedient for them. In this regard, it was suggested to return to the idea expressed at the last Consultative Meeting of creating a Business Cooperation Council of Central Asian countries.

Speaking about cultural and humanitarian cooperation, President Serdar Berdimuhamedov stated that Central Asia is one of the cradles of world civilization. Today, as noted, the task is to create a single cultural space in the region as systems of complex, multifaceted interaction of cultural communities of our countries, popularization of the richest spiritual and historical heritage of the peoples of Central Asia, modern achievements in the literature, art, cinema, encouragement of broad contacts between representatives of the creative intelligentsia.

At the end of his speech, President Serdar Berdimuhamedov stressed that today, in the conditions of the extreme aggravation of the world situation, we, neighbors, fraternal peoples with a common history and roots, need to preserve unity and cohesion, show responsibility and foresight at all costs. Expressing the conviction that together it is possible to ensure peace, prosperity and progress for our peoples and states, full and effective entry of Central Asia into a number of rapidly developing and promising economic regions of global importance, the head of state confirmed Turkmenistan’s readiness for the closest cooperation to achieve these goals.

In the speeches, the emphasis was placed on the fact that meetings in such format have become a key factor in international politics and allow determining the further vector of development of Central Asia in an atmosphere of trust and mutual understanding. In the current conditions, the Summit demonstrates the unity of the five countries and confirms their common desire to jointly confront the new challenges and threats of our time.

Among the priority vectors of the partnership were named ensuring regional security, building up economic multilateral cooperation, transport and communication sector, rational use of water resources, ecology, trade and investment, digitalization, tourism, youth policy, etc.

Special emphasis was placed on the existence of deep historical traditions of good neighborliness between our peoples, which serves as a good prerequisite for positioning Central Asia as a single cultural and humanitarian space. In this regard, a number of constructive initiatives have been announced.

Following the results of the Consultative Meeting of the heads of Central Asian States, a number of documents were adopted.

Then an official dinner was given on behalf of the President of the Kyrgyz Republic at the Ruh-Ordo Cultural Center named after Chingiz Aitmatov in honor of the leaders of the countries participating in the fourth Consultative Meeting. Before the reception, the Presidents of the five friendly states took pictures on the shore of Issyk-Kul.

At the end of the working visit program, the head of the Turkmen state headed for the Issyk-Kul International Airport to depart for his Homeland.