Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- On 22 April 2022, the 5th Ministerial meeting "Central Asia - Russia" was held in the format of a videoconference. The event was attended by representatives of the governments of Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and Russia. The Republic of Uzbekistan was represented by the Deputy Prime Minister - Minister of Investments and Foreign Trade Sardor Umurzakov at a videoconference.

The agenda of the meeting included issues of multilateral cooperation between the countries of the region and Russia, including mechanisms for maintaining stability in Central Asia, countering terrorist and extremist threats, stimulating the implementation of reforms and sustainable development, ensuring accelerated economic growth and food security, building up export potential, developing intraregional tourism, cyber and biological security, as well as the establishment of industry cooperation between the countries of the region.

Representatives of the participating countries in their speeches outlined the current state of bilateral and multilateral cooperation in each of the above areas, outlined the priorities of the current interaction, as well as a vision of its expansion in the near and medium term.

Sardor Umurzakov’s speech was devoted to the prospects for deepening cooperation in the areas of supporting reforms and strengthening the sustainable development of the region.

The most important areas of cooperation between the countries participating in the platform were identified. Among them are the active promotion of trade and economic ties and ensuring food security through the expansion and diversification of mutual supplies of demanded products, the development of "green corridors" and logistics opportunities.

The Uzbek side also called for strengthening joint work on developing technological potential, consolidating and mobilizing joint investment opportunities of the countries participating in the platform.

In the context of the need to accelerate the post-COVID recovery, revitalize tourism, business and cargo exchanges between the countries of the region and Russia, the importance of coordinated cooperation to remove barriers to trade and passenger flows was noted.

Also, Sardor Umurzakov, in his speech, listed specific areas of interaction in the field of industrial cooperation and technological exchange, energy, education, healthcare, science and information technology, as well as regional security both on a bilateral basis and within the framework of regional and international structures.

A special place in the speech was given to the Afghan problem. The commitment of Uzbekistan to continue providing practical support to Afghanistan in solving acute socio-economic problems, ensuring the security of the population and stability in the country was indicated. Uzbekistan will continue to provide effective humanitarian assistance to the Afghan people, fulfill existing agreements on the supply of electricity, provide training services for Afghan students and specialists in the country’s educational institutions, and promote the implementation of previously agreed joint infrastructure projects.

A substantive discussion and a productive exchange of views on the agenda items allowed the participants to identify points of intersection of mutual interests and develop common positions on various aspects of interaction. As a result of the event, a common readiness was expressed to continue a multilateral dialogue in order to promote mutually beneficial partnership and solve common problems.