On March 30, 2024, in Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, China, the opening ceremony of the Secretariat of the Central Asia-China format was held with the participation of the Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of China Sun Weidong, Secretary of the Shaanxi Provincial Party Committee Zhao Yide, Governor of Shaanxi Province Zhao Gang, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan A.Bakaev, Ambassadors of Turkmenistan P.Durdyev, Uzbekistan F. Arziev, Tajikistan Z.Saidzoda and Kyrgyzstan A.Musaeva, as well as representatives of the media.
In his speech, Chinese Foreign Vice Minister Sun Weidong congratulated those present on the opening of the temporary Secretariat and read out a congratulatory message from the Chinese Foreign Minister. He also noted that China attaches great importance to strengthening and developing comprehensive relations with the states of Central Asia.
An agreement on the creation of a permanent Secretariat was reached at the First Summit of Heads of State of the "Central Asia-China" Format, held in May last year in Xi'an.
The heads of delegations, in turn, also read out congratulatory messages from the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Central Asian countries.
The message of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan notes that the decisions of the Summit of Heads of State of the “Central Asia – China” Format are the main vectors for further productive interaction on both a bilateral and multilateral basis. Taking into account the common understanding of the need to develop and further strengthen the partnership of the countries participating in the Format, the Turkmen side expresses its readiness to continue to make a significant contribution to the expansion and strengthening of our interaction within the framework of this Format.
Wu Yingqin was appointed executive director of the temporary Secretariat, who will continue to work until the signing of the constituent documents and the appointment of the Secretary General of the Format. The first Secretary General, by agreement of the parties, will be a representative of China.
During the visit to Xi'an, the delegation of Turkmenistan also held a number of working meetings with the leaders of Shaanxi province, at which ways to further strengthen bilateral relations at the interregional level were discussed.
