On June 8, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Uzbekistan Vladimir Norov took part in the “Central Asia – China” third ministerial meeting, in Nur-Sultan, Uzbekistan MFA reports.

The parties discussed current issues of interaction and comprehensively considered ways to implement the initiatives announced during the online summit by the heads of state of Central Asia and China on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations, held on January 25, 2022.

The ministers confirmed their desire to continue mutually beneficial cooperation to further expand relations in the political dialogue, sustainable development, trade and economic, investment, financial, scientific and technical, transport and communication, water and energy, information technology, environmental, cultural and humanitarian cooperation and green energy sources.

The importance of using the potential of Central Asian states and China in the interests of forming a security space in the region, a mutually beneficial, sustainable and inclusive partnership was noted.

The participants of the meeting supported the initiative of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev to develop and adopt a UN General Assembly resolution on the connectivity of Central and South Asia.

Views were exchanged on the promotion of the peaceful reconstruction of Afghanistan, including in interaction with the international community. Common interest was expressed in overcoming the humanitarian crisis as soon as possible and restoring the socio-economic infrastructure of Afghanistan, its involvement in global economic relations to promote the achievement of civil peace and harmony in the Afghan society.

The main attention was paid to the issues of resuming air traffic and creating more favorable conditions for mutual trips of citizens, the progressive restoration of passenger flights and an increase in cargo transportation, tourist flow, the formation of express corridors, the organization of multimodal transportation of goods and green corridors.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Uzbekistan called to support the initiative of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan on the establishment of the Coordinating Council of the Central Asian States and China on the development of transport connectivity, aimed at ensuring uninterrupted cargo flow and the development of trans-regional logistics networks, as well as the practical implementation of transport infrastructure projects.

Following the event, a Joint Statement, a Roadmap for the Development of Regional Cooperation for 2022-2025, an Initiative to deepen cooperation between Central Asian states and China in connectivity, an Initiative for interaction in ensuring data security between China and Central Asian countries were adopted.

UzA