On April 16, Kuwait hosted the Third Meeting of Foreign Ministers of the Strategic Dialogue between the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and Central Asia.
The meeting was attended by the leadership of foreign ministries of Central Asian countries and six countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council — the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, the State of Qatar, the State of Kuwait, the Sultanate of Oman, and the Kingdom of Bahrain.
The participants reviewed the current state of interregional cooperation, exchanged views on pressing international issues, and outlined priority areas for future collaboration.
Special attention was given to practical cooperation in key areas, such as investment, the agro-industrial complex, transport infrastructure, renewable energy, climate change, geology, digitalization and innovation.
In his remarks, Deputy Prime Minister–Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan Murat Nurtleu underscored the strategic relevance of cooperation in rare earth and critical raw materials industries.
“Kazakhstan possesses more than 5,000 mineral deposits with a total estimated value exceeding 46 trillion US dollars. We invite our GCC partners to participate in joint projects across the full cycle – from exploration to processing and innovative applications,” stated Minister Nurtleu.
He further highlighted the importance of driving the partnership through digital technologies. Kazakhstan is actively investing in this field and has recently established an International Advisory Council on Artificial Intelligence and launched Alem.AI Center in Astana that will serve as a hub for startups, R&D, and cutting-edge tech development.
Kazakhstan has also proposed the creation of a unified Central Asian tourist route tailored to visitors from the Gulf countries.
Photo: gov.kz
