GCC, Central Asian states strengthening ties on all fronts: PM

Second ministerial meeting of Strategic Dialogue between GCC and Central Asian states held in Tashkent

QNA

Doha: The State of Qatar has participated in the second ministerial meeting of the Strategic Dialogue between the GCC countries and Central Asian states held on Monday in Tashkent, the Republic of Uzbekistan.

The Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs HE Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani chaired the State of Qatar’s delegation at the meeting.

In the State of Qatar’s speech during the inaugural session, the Foreign Minister said that Monday’s meeting expresses the credible desire to strengthen the relations, highlights the shared priorities, and capitalizes on the potential and strengths of the GCC and Central Asian states through expanding the existing cooperation frameworks and deepening the GCC roles as success partners for other territories.

There is an aspiration to discuss the details of the draft agreement on friendship, regional connectivity, and cooperation between the GCC countries and the Central Asia states during the upcoming period, His Excellency added, pointing out that the Ministerial Council of GCC countries gives foremost priority to the Strategic Dialogue with the Central Asian states and completes the plans in pursuit of enhancing cooperation with them.

His Excellency said the first Strategic Dialogue held in September 2022 formed a critical juncture in the cooperation process between the two sides and culminated in the first historic summit of the leaders of GCC countries and Central Asian states in July 2023 in Jeddah, underlining the keenness of all states to effectively continue this process.

He emphasized that the escalation the region has undergone through during the past days unequivocally highlights the importance of maintaining the effective engagement and coordination among various countries of the region to ensure regional stability and peace.

He highlighted that the GCC countries and Central Asian states strive to achieve the objectives of this summit to further strengthen relations between them in all fields, study and set the perceptions and proposals in the areas of political and security coordination, enhance the relationships of financial and economic institutions and promote trade, investment and cooperation in education and vocational training, in addition to sharing experiences in health fields and other fields that help achieve sustainable development and realize the interests of nations.