Kazakhstan Took Part in the 2nd Ministerial Meeting on Strategic Dialogue “Central Asia – Gulf Cooperation Council”

Tashkent, April 15, 2024 – The 2^nd Ministerial Meeting on Strategic Dialogue “Central Asia – Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)” took place in Tashkent

Kazakhstan delegation was headed by Alibek Bakayev, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

During the event, the countries of Central Asia and GCC discussed the state and prospects of interregional cooperation, as well as current issues of the international agenda.

Kazakh diplomat, in his statement noted the huge potential of this dialogue platform and made specific proposals for increasing cooperation in the trade, economic, cultural, humanitarian, scientific and technological fields.

In this context, Alibek Bakayev emphasized the importance of strengthening trade relations between the two regions and invited the Gulf States to take an active part in the implementation of joint investment projects in Kazakhstan and other Central Asian countries.

In addition, the head of the Kazakh delegation voiced Kazakh initiatives such as expansion of the activities of the Islamic Organization for Food Security and use of the potential of the International Technopark of IT startups “Astana Hub” and organizing of the 5^th World Nomad Games in Kazakhstan in September this year.

Concluding the meeting parties adopted Joint Statement, which aimed at strengthening comprehensive cooperation in key areas between the two regions.

It is worth mentioning that the “Central Asia – GCC” dialogue platform was launched in 2022. The First Ministerial Meeting took place in September 2022 in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, while the First Summit of this platform was held in July 2023 in Jeddah, with participation of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.