FORUM DEDICATED TO REGIONAL COOPERATION
On October 18, 2021, the conference “New Uzbekistan and Regional Partnership in Central Asia” was held in a hybrid format. Experts from Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, USA and China took part in the work of the scientific forum. The forum, organized by the International Institute of Central Asia and the Konrad Adenauer Foundation in Uzbekistan, brought together over a dozen experts. The rector of the Institute of International Relations of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan (IIR MFAT) also took part in the work of such a representative forum. In his speech the rector of the IIR MFAT noted the importance of the issues on the agenda and drew the participants’ attention to the development of Turkmen-Uzbek relations and its impact on the development of multilateral cooperation in the Central Asian region for the sake of achieving sustainable development, peace and security.
As the rector noted, the priority of the foreign policy strategy of Turkmenistan under the leadership of President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov is friendly, equal and mutually beneficial bilateral relations with all states of the world, primarily with the closest neighbours. Today mutual understanding and trust underlying the dialogues are one of the main conditions for maintaining peace, tranquility and security in the regional and global dimensions. The Republic of Uzbekistan is one of the strategically important partners of Turkmenistan on the international arena.
The head of the “national school of diplomacy” also focused attention on the issues of Turkmen-Uzbek cooperation in the fuel and energy, trade, economic, transport and communication systems, agro-industrial spheres and analyzed the dynamics of the development of these relations on a scientific basis.
The forum was conducted in 3 thematic sessions: “Challenges to the independence of Central Asian countries: state-building and the revival of the region”, “New Uzbekistan and new Central Asia: joint progress in the sphere of interconnectedness” and “Central Asia as an important region of the world system”. The experts noted the importance of this kind of dialogue and agreed to continue cooperation between the academic circles of the Central Asian countries.
Taking a part in the second session of the conference, the rector stressed the importance of continuing the dialogue between scientific institutions of Central Asia in the study of development trends and changes in the dynamics of relations between the countries of the region and other centers of world politics. At the end of the forum, the head of the IIR MFAT wished the participants a fruitful dialogue during the scientific conference.
The conference became an important platform for the exchange of views on essential issues of regional development and strengthened scientific ties between research institutions in the region.
Akmuhammet JUMAGULIYEV,
Lecturer at the Department of
International Relations
and Diplomacy of
the Institute of International Relations of
the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan