Esteemed representatives of mass media,

Ladies and gentlemen,

Today in Tashkent, the Second Foreign Ministerial Meeting of the Strategic Dialogue “Central Asia – Gulf Cooperation Council” was held in an open, constructive, and friendly atmosphere.

First of all, we sincerely thank you for your interest in this important event and your extensive coverage.

At the meeting, chaired by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Uzbekistan Bakhtiyar Saidov, the following individuals were present:

From the GCC states:

• -Prime Minister of the state of Qatar, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Chairman of the 44th Session of the GCC, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani;
• Secretary General of the Gulf Cooperation Council;
• Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Oman;
• Special representative of the President of the United Arab Emirates for Central Asia, Minister of Energy and industry;
• Minister of State for Foreign Affairs of Qatar;

From the Central Asia states:

• Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers of Turkmenistan - Minister of Foreign Affairs;
• Ministers of foreign affairs of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan;
• Deputy Foreign Minister of Kazakhstan.

Furthermore, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan was invited to the event as a guest of Honor.

The high level of participation by all the states involved in today's ministerial meeting is a testament to the growing prestige of the “Central Asia-GCC” strategic dialogue format.

At the meeting, issues of strengthening mutually beneficial and comprehensive cooperation between Central Asia and Gulf Cooperation Council states in political, security, trade, economic, investment, transport and logistics, Environmental Protection, green energy, cultural and humanitarian and other spheres were discussed in detail.

The meeting also positively evaluated the work on the implementation of the agreements reached at the Summit of the Heads of State of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf and Central Asia held in Jeddah on July 19, 2023.

The state of implementation of the “Joint Action Plan for 2023-2027 for Strategic Dialogue and Cooperation” adopted at the summit was analyzed and it was agreed to take additional practical measures to bring it into full-fledged life.

Within the framework of this summit, it was noted that a number of initiatives aimed at the development of regional cooperation advanced by the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan, in particular, the proposal to adopt a “friendship, interregional ties, and cooperation agreement”, are relevant and important.

The participants noted that the results of the Ministerial Meeting will set the stage for the preparation for the second summit of the Central Asia – Gulf Arab States Strategic Dialogue, which is scheduled to be held in Samarkand in 2025, and its high level of organization.

The ministers also exchanged views on current international and regional issues, in particular Afghanistan, the situation in the Middle East, the Palestine-Israel conflict, and a number of other topics.

The parties confirmed that they are stable and united in strengthening stable and promising cooperation based on common values and mutual interests.

The next meeting of foreign ministers of the “Central Asia – GCC” was agreed to be held in Kuwait in 2026.

By the conclusion of the meeting, a joint statement was adopted.

Esteemed representatives of mass media!

With this, the briefing dedicated to the conclusion of the second meeting of foreign ministers of the “Central Asia – GCC” concluded.

Thank you for your attention.