On April 11, Almaty hosted the eighth meeting between Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and foreign ministers of Central Asian countries: Deputy Prime Minister – Foreign Minister of Kazakhstan Murat Nurtleu, Foreign Minister of the Kyrgyz Republic Jeenbek Kulubayev, and Foreign Minister of Tajikistan Sirojiddin Muhriddin. Turkmenistan was represented by Deputy Foreign Minister Ahmet Gurbanov, and Uzbekistan by Deputy Foreign Minister Bobur Usmanov.
The meeting discussed the prospects for partnership in the six-party format in the trade and industrial sphere, green economy, water conservation, transport, and logistics connectivity.
A discussion was held on how to increase cooperation in resolving pressing issues on the international agenda, including security in the Central Asian region and Russia, due to persisting terrorist, extremist and drug threats.
Special focus was placed on explaining the introduction of measures to prevent illegal migration into Russian legislation to Central Asian partners.
Kazakhstan’s Nurtleu noted the steady growth in the volume of mutual trade between the countries of Central Asia and Russia. In 2024, their trade turnover amounted to 44.7 billion US dollars, 11.3% higher than the 2023 figure.
Nurtleu named projects for the transit of Russian gas through the territory of Kazakhstan to the countries of Central Asia, the construction and modernization of power facilities, the development of international transport corridors, as well as the reconstruction and expansion of the road and railway network as significant examples of successful cooperation.
Photo: gov.kz
