BAKU, Azerbaijan, February 18. Looking at
Central Asia, it becomes clear that the region has entered a
qualitatively new stage of development, the Department Head at the
Institute for Strategic and Regional Studies (ISRS) under the
President of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Azamat Sulimanov, said,
Trend reports.
He made the remark at an international conference on ‘C6: One
region, shared future – enhancing strategic dialogue’ held today in
Baku.
According to him, in a short period of time, Central Asia has
gone from dialogue to real partnership: “Territorial issues have
been resolved, borders have been opened, and cooperation in energy,
transport, and trade has been established. Consultative meetings of
the heads of state of Central Asia played a key role in this
process, serving as an important pillar of the regional cooperation
architecture.”
Sulimanov emphasized that these meetings have proven their
effectiveness as a tool for direct and systematic dialogue between
the leaders of the countries.
“I believe that Azerbaijan’s accession to this format allows us
to talk about a qualitative rethinking of the regional space, in
which the Caspian Sea ceases to be a border and becomes a
connecting element. This, in turn, entails the interconnection
In addition, the expert stressed that this contributes to
strengthening interregional connectivity between Central Asia and
the South Caucasus, as well as strengthening the region’s
international standing.