On September 7, Riyadh hosted the first joint ministerial meeting of the strategic dialogue between the Foreign Ministers of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and Central Asian countries.
The event was attended by the heads of foreign policy agencies of the council’s member states – UAE, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, and Central Asian countries - Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.
At the meeting, Foreign Minister of Uzbekistan Vladimir Norov made proposals to create a council of businessmen in order to activate trade and economic relations between the GCC and the countries of Central Asia, implement projects in the field of transport, accelerate the construction of the Termiz - Mazar-i-Sharif - Kabul - Peshawar railway, and establish the format of meetings of transport ministers.
He also noted the importance of establishing joint clinics, organizing the production of pharmaceutical products, opening branches of higher educational institutions and vocational training centers, accelerating scientific and academic exchanges, supporting innovative developments and start-ups.
In order to preserve the common heritage of the GCC and the countries of Central Asia, initiatives were taken to organize joint exhibitions and conferences, digitize the manuscript fund and create joint virtual libraries, encourage direct relations between museums, and develop a program of joint activities that envisages conducting historical and archaeological research.
Norov informed the participants of the meeting about the situation in Afghanistan. The delegations highly appreciated Uzbekistan’s efforts to provide humanitarian aid to Afghanistan and implement major infrastructure projects in the country. The practical importance of the international conference “Afghanistan: security and economic development” held in July this year was especially stressed.
The Foreign Minister of Uzbekistan proposed to hold the second Ministerial Meeting of GCC-Central Asia Strategic Dialogue in Samarkand next year.
