Today, Astana hosted the sixth Central Asia Summit, chaired by the President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, the press service of Akorda said.

The President of Kazakhstan underscored that the outcomes of the Summit brought regional cooperation to an unprecedented level, giving it a systemic, comprehensive and, most importantly, trusting character.

“Thanks to joint efforts, long-standing key issues are being resolved. Comprehensive measures are being taken to ensure regional stability and security. Border issues, water supply, and migration are being systematically resolved, and many barriers to mutual trade have been removed. Border checkpoints are being modernized, transport links are expanding, and new routes are being opened. Trade, economic and investment cooperation is developing dynamically,” he said.

As Kassym-Jomart Tokayev underscored, over the past years, consultative meetings "have become an effective platform demonstrating the international subjectivity and unity of the region, as well as our readiness to jointly respond to the challenges of our time."

The President of Kazakhstan underscored that in the current "difficult geopolitical and economic realities, it is extremely important to maintain the high dynamics of cooperation development in the region." He outlined a number of tasks for the progress of Central Asia.

"Today, we are witnessing a dangerous erosion of the fundamental foundations of the international relations system. In these conditions, the main task remains the preservation of peace and stability in our region. It is obvious that overcoming modern challenges and threats is possible only through strengthening political dialogue and confidence-building measures between our states. […] It is important that within the framework of regional cooperation, we are systematically increasing comprehensive cooperation with external partners. The interest of the world's leading countries in the "Central Asia Plus" format is a clear confirmation of this," Kassym-Jomart Tokayev emphasized.

The leader of Kazakhstan called on the presidents to focus all efforts to ensure that Central Asia remains a space of security, cooperation and prosperity.

Kassym-Jomart Tokayev named the formation of an economic basis for cooperation as another task. The volume of intraregional trade has reached $11 billion with the possibility of increasing it to $15 billion in the foreseeable future.

“Joint large infrastructure and transport projects can become new growth points for the economies of our countries. There are already good examples of such mutually beneficial cooperation in the region. We are talking about the Kambarata HPP-1 in Kyrgyzstan, the Rogun HPP in Tajikistan, gas projects in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, the construction of new transport corridors and a number of other important projects. The development of a network of trade, logistics and industrial hubs in border areas is a priority. It is necessary to reinforce our comprehensive partnership with new agreements in such promising sectors as agriculture, logistics, textile and chemical industries, construction,” Kassym-Jomart Tokayev believes.

The President of Kazakhstan stated that his country supports the proposal to establish the Business Council of Central Asian Countries. In his opinion, the development of the region's transit and transport potential, as well as the adoption of the Comprehensive Strategy for the Development of the Central Asian Transport System, are of great importance.

"A special place here is given to such projects as the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route, the North-South Corridor, the Belt and Road Initiative, in which all Central Asian countries are involved to one degree or another. Thanks to joint efforts, the potential of the Kazakhstan-Turkmenistan-Iran railway is consistently increasing. Today, this is the shortest route to the Persian Gulf countries. We consider the construction of the Trans-Afghan Railway, which opens access to the markets of South Asia, to be promising. Kazakhstan is carrying out large-scale internal work in the transport and transit sector. By 2030, our country plans to modernize 11 thousand km and build more than 5,000 km of new railways," the head of state said.

Another key issue on the regional agenda is the rational use of water and energy resources. The President of Kazakhstan believes that it is necessary to develop a new consolidated water policy based on equal and fair water use, strict fulfillment of mutual obligations.

"Multilateral water cooperation can be based on initiatives for the joint construction of hydropower facilities and the establishment of a Water and Energy Consortium for Central Asian countries. Current tasks include digitalization of water distribution and accounting, the introduction of space monitoring technologies, and the development of systemic scientific work," Kassym-Jomart Tokayev emphasized.

According to him, Kazakhstan is in favor of expanding five-way cooperation in the fields of education, science, culture, and human capital development. The President invited young people from Central Asian and Caucasian countries to receive an international double-degree education in Kazakhstan.

Kassym-Jomart Tokayev emphasized that Kazakhstan's strategic course on strengthening regional partnership and enhancing the role of Central Asia on the world stage remains unchanged.

"I am convinced that the future of our region depends solely on a trusting dialogue and cooperation between our countries, a joint search for adequate responses to all internal and external challenges," the head of state concluded.

In conclusion, the President of Kazakhstan wished the President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev success in his post as the next chairman of the Consultative Meeting.