A meeting on videoconferencing in the EU-CA-Afghanistan format was held at the level of the Deputy Foreign Ministers of the countries of Central Asia, the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and the Secretary General of the European External Action Service Ms. Helga Schmid.
The current meeting was attended by the deputy heads of the foreign affairs agencies of Afghanistan – Mirvais Nab, Kazakhstan – M. Syzdykov, Kyrgyzstan – A. Madmarov, Tajikistan – M. Huseynzoda, Turkmenistan – V. Hajiyev, Uzbekistan – Sh. Asadov.
During the meeting, issues of developing the dynamics of regional cooperation, interaction of the Central Asian countries with the European Union in the field of security were discussed. They had also touched upon the preparations for the next round of the Central Asia – European Union Ministerial Meeting and the First Forum on Green Economy in the EU-CA format.
Against the background of the general discussion, a detailed exchange of views took place on building up further multilateral cooperation in order to effectively implement the new EU Strategy for Central Asia.
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan V. Khadzhiev focused on the need to further strengthen and expand the mutually beneficial dialogue between the EU and the countries of Central Asia and Afghanistan on all ranges of mutual interest of the parties.
In this aspect, V. Khadzhiev highlighted the importance of effective implementation of the programs of the European Union “BOMCA”, “CADAP”, as well as the EU-Central Asia regional platform on the rule of law.
The Turkmen side paid special attention to expanding regional cooperation in the field of sustainable development, security and economic growth.
In this context, the need to increase the effectiveness of multilateral dialogue and cooperation in order to establish a prosperous civil society in Afghanistan, including the country’s integration into a peaceful development channel, was emphasized. The positive experience of Turkmenistan in promoting the settlement of situations in the neighboring country was noted, as well as the initiative of the Turkmen state aimed at providing political space for conducting inter-Afghan negotiations.
Helga Schmid, Secretary General of the European External Action Service, emphasized that the European Union welcomes and supports the activities of the UN Regional Center for Preventive Diplomacy in Central Asia, and also intends to contribute in every way to the work of the Center in the future.
As part of the online forum, the participants also considered in detail the issues of coordinating common efforts to overcome the socio-economic consequences of the pandemic, ensuring social protection of the population in the new realities, as well as introducing digital technologies in the process of transition to a green economy in the Central Asian region.
Tehnologiýa dünýäsinde bolup geçýän wakalar we täze açyşlar bilen gyzyklanmaýan okyjy ýok bolsa gerek!
