16th Central Asia – EU Ministerial Meeting -Turkmenistan adheres to the multilateral partnership

Ashgabat/Turkmenistan – On the 17^th of November 2020, the Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan Rashid Meredov took part in the work of the 16^th Central Asia – EU Ministerial Meeting that was held through videoconferencing.

The leadership of the external policy agencies of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, the Republic of Tajikistan, the Republic of Uzbekistan, as well as the European Union’s (EU) High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/Vice-President of the European Commission and European Commissioner for International Partnerships participated to the session.

During the meeting, the participants discussed a number of key issues of political, economic and humanitarian scope taking into account the interests of both regions and expressed adherence to the partnership, aimed at the maintenance of peace, security, universal human rights and sustainable development, in full accordance with the international law.

The cooperation on overcoming the COVID-19 pandemic and its socio-economic impacts were especially discussed. In this regard, the assistance of the EU to the countries of Central Asia was emphasized.

Speaking at the session, the Foreign Minister of Turkmenistan stressed the efficiency of partnership between the countries of the CA, EU and the World Health Organization. It was stated that the relevant regional programme financed by the EU is aimed at strengthening the resilience of healthcare systems of the CA countries for the near-term outlook. In this regard, R.Meredov called for expanding the cooperation between the CA countries, EU and the United Nations.

The position of Turkmenistan in regard to the implementation of the EU Strategy on Central Asia was also voiced. The Head of MFA of Turkmenistan proposed to specify the actions on practical implementation of the given Strategy including the development of the Roadmap of Cooperation for 2021. The healthcare, sustainable energy, transport connectivity and environmental protection issues were named among the priority vectors of cooperation.

The participants highlighted the importance of progress reached in the area of the supremacy of law, gender equality and universal human rights. The regional cooperation matters in such areas as border and water management, trade facilitation and economic integration were discussed, especially in the period of COVID-19 pandemic where the EU is rendering significant financial and technical support.

The parties agreed to continue cooperation on directions posing mutual interest and exchanged views in regard to prospects of collaboration in the format “Central Asia – European Union”.

 During 16^th Central Asia – EU Ministerial Meeting, the key issues of regional and international agenda were discussed. The Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan noted the active role of Turkmenistan in addressing the global challenges, as well as strengthening multilateral regional and international cooperation.

Thus, the firm commitment of Turkmenistan to the initiatives in the area of energy security, use of ecofriendly energy, expansion of regional and international transport and transit communications was underlined.

The parties expressed interest in the advancement of trade-economic, transport and energy cooperation and agreed to hold the First Economic Forum “EU-Central Asia” in 2021.

The issues of security and stability in the Central Asia and nearby regions were especially regarded. In this regard, the firm adherence of Turkmenistan to the implementation of the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy was emphasized. The importance of the Ashgabat Declaration of 2011 and the Central Asia’s Joint Plan of Action to counter terrorism was highlighted.

The participants expressed interest in continuing cooperation between the Central Asia and the EU on combatting terrorism, transnational organized crime, human trafficking, illegal drug trafficking and cyber security threats. In this context, the Turkmen side called for the intensification of partnership in the CA-EU-UN format.

The parties discussed the advancement of intra-Afghan peace talks and underlined the importance of support to the overall reinstatement of Afghanistan. It was noted that Turkmenistan actively works on the promotion of large infrastructural projects with participation of Afghanistan, including the construction of the gas pipeline TAPI, power and fiber-optic communication lines on Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan route, building of the railway lines from Turkmenistan to Afghanistan.

The participants of the session welcomed the initiative of the Government of Turkmenistan to host in December of current year in Ashgabat, an International Conference entitled as the “Policy of Neutrality and its Importance in Ensuring International Peace, Security, and Sustainable Development” devoted to the 25^th anniversary of permanent Neutrality of Turkmenistan, as well as to organize an International High-Level Forum in the year of 2021, which has been declared by the United Nations General Assembly as the International Year of Peace and Trust.

The heads of the external policy agencies of the EU and Central Asia welcomed the mutual cooperation on humanitarian issues and discussed the opportunities of widening ties in the area of education, science, culture, technologies and innovations.

The Joint Communiqué was adopted upon the outcomes of the 16^th Central Asia – EU Ministerial Meeting.