The 15th Summit of the Organization for Economic Cooperation, successfully held on November 28 under the chairmanship of President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, became one of the central political events of 2021, declared at the initiative of our country as the International Year of Peace and Confidence.

Even before the start of its work, the Summit, symbolically held at the suggestion of the Turkmen leader on ECO Day, was listed by journalists as an event of global importance, taking into account the political significance of multilateral negotiations at the highest level and the issues brought up for discussion.

Thus, one of the first news agencies that reported about the ECO Summit in the Turkmen capital were Anadolu (Turkey), IRNA and Mehrnews (Iran), Associated Press of Pakistan (Pakistan), as well as digital and print media from Central Asia and Azerbaijan.

The attention of many other foreign electronic publications was focused on topical topics on the agenda of the high-level meeting in Ashgabat. Thus, the Russian Agency for Economic Information PRIME reported that the leaders of the ECO countries will consider expanding economic cooperation within the Organization. At the same time, it was noted that special attention will be paid to the development of interaction in traditional and renewable energy, in transport, as well as partnership in combating the coronavirus pandemic and minimizing its consequences.

One of the significant topics of discussion was assistance in the normalization of the situation in Afghanistan. For example, the well-known Russian international information agency RIA Novosti writes that ECO recognizes the importance of peace and stability in Afghanistan and declares its unwavering support for national, regional and global efforts for the reconstruction and sustainable development of this country.

The information and analytical portal "Caspian Bulletin", in turn, noted the fact that the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran Seyed Ebrahim Raisi will take part in the Summit of the Organization for Economic Cooperation for the first time, stating the position and proposals of Iran on strengthening regional and international relations, especially on removing obstacles and increasing the level of cooperation between ECO member countries.

As popular electronic publications noted, referring to the reports of the State Information Agency TDH, the head of Turkmenistan proposed to study the use of logistics and infrastructure facilities in Turkmenistan in order to activate transport and transit communication between the countries of the Caspian and the Black Sea basin with access to the states of Europe and the Middle East, as well as Asia Pacific region.

For example, the Pakistani news agency Associated Press of Pakistan emphasized the geostrategic position of the space occupied by the member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and the high potential of the region adjacent to China, Europe, Russia and the Gulf countries.

Thus, the national news agency of Uzbekistan and various Internet resources of the neighboring country - uz.sputniknews, yuz.uz, darakchi.uz, who widely covered the work of the Summit, focused their attention in connection with the transfer of the chairmanship of the Organization for Economic Cooperation to the Republic of Uzbekistan in 2022 on current initiatives of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, in particular, on the creation of a Center for Trade, Investment and Innovation within the ECO jointly with the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and the United Nations Special Program for the Economies of Central Asia (SPECA).

Azertac and Trend news agencies, in turn, focused on the proposals of the President of Azerbaijan regarding the creation of new transport corridors and the implementation of new important economic projects.

Kyrgyz news agency 24.kg quoted President Sadyr Japarov as saying that ECO member states have all the potential necessary to achieve the goals and objectives of the Organization, including economic opportunities, cultural, humanitarian and scientific, as well as huge natural resources.

Tajik news sites, including tj.sputniknews and tajikistan24.com, covered a speech by President Emomali Rahmon, who suggested that serious attention be paid to climate change and disaster risk reduction. In this regard, the hope was expressed for the support of Tajikistan's proposals to declare 2025 the International Year of Glacier Protection and to establish World Glacier Day, as well as to create an International Glacier Fund in ECO.

The official information resource of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan also attracted the attention of the international media community. In particular, the well-known Russian agency TASS noted that the head of the government of Kazakhstan proposed to develop a "Roadmap" to increase trade flows within the Organization, taking into account the competitive advantages and capabilities of each country.

The popular resources, including the Interstate Television and Radio Company "Mir" - TV channel and the information-analytical Internet portal "MIR 24", as well as sites SNG.TODAY, CentralAsia.news and many others, also provided detailed information on the work of the 15th ECO Summit in Ashgabat, the proposals voiced at it and the events held on the sidelines of the forum, in particular, bilateral meetings and the ECO business forum.

China's Xinhua, in particular, reported that following the Summit, the Ashgabat Consensus for Action was unanimously adopted, which united the key priorities of the member countries to further develop and strengthen regional economic cooperation.

Expressing gratitude to all colleagues and experts who took part in the preparation of the text of this document, designed to create an even more solid foundation for further well-coordinated joint work, President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov stressed that "together we are able to solve the most difficult problems."

“Today, in a difficult situation in international relations, crisis phenomena in the global economy, our countries show examples of mutual trust, good neighborliness, responsibility, respect for each other, readiness to go forward hand in hand” - these words of the Turkmen leader became the leitmotif for numerous comments that appeared in the global information network in the very first minutes after the end of the forum.

Thus, the 15th Summit of the Organization for Economic Cooperation, organized and held at a high level, summed up the results of the successful chairmanship of Turkmenistan in the Organization and became an important platform for discussing existing issues and ways to effectively realize the total potential.

Concluding the review of the world press presented to our readers, one can say with good reason: a new page has been opened in the common history of states and peoples in the ECO space, which for centuries connected the Great Silk Road, now being revived on the Eurasian continent in a modern format based on the principles of friendship, peace and harmony.