Foreign Ministers of Central Asian countries and the U.S. participated in a C5+1 high-level meeting held in a video conference format on Friday. The officials paid special attention to the issues of climate change and environmental protection.
The meeting was attended by the U.S. Secretary of State and the Foreign Ministers of the Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, Turkmen Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
In his speech at the ministerial meeting, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan Rashid Meredov noted the constructive approach of all C5+1 format parties to the development of partnership in political-diplomatic, trade-economic, environmental and other spheres.
The Turkmen side outlined the necessity of establishing the Regional Centre on Technologies related to the Climate Change and also proposed to consider the possibility of forming scientific and environmental clusters in the region.
Top Turkmen Diplomat Meredov focused on the Aral Sea issue. He noted that water issues in Central Asia should be resolved on the basis of generally recognized norms of international law, taking into account the interests of all countries in the region and with the participation of international organizations.
In turn, the U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken announced a two-year project supporting women’s business associations across Central Asia as part of the Women and Girls Empowered (WAGE) Program, according to the U.S. State Department’s press release.
The C5+1 format serves as a multilateral mechanism of interaction between the five Central Asian countries and the U.S. The dialogue focuses on economic development, regional cooperation and security issues. The first meeting with the participation of the foreign ministers of six countries was held on November 1, 2015 in Samarkand.