On August 4, 2023, a press conference was held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan following the trilateral meeting of the Presidents of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhamedov, the Republic of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon and the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev.
During the press conference, the heads of the foreign ministries of Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan made appeals to media representatives, in which the results of the negotiations at the highest level were announced.
The ministers stressed that the current summit is an important and constructive part of such a format of political interaction as the Consultative Meeting of the Heads of State of Central Asia. In this context, it was noted that the meeting of the Presidents of Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan will be an important contribution to the successful holding in September this year in Dushanbe of the 5th anniversary summit of the Presidents of the states of the Central Asian region.
As the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan R.Meredov noted, three main issues were included in the agenda of the summit: rational use of water resources of the Amudarya River; development of cooperation in the field of energy and discussion of opportunities for interaction in this area; as well as strengthening cooperation in the field of transport and logistics, expanding transport and transit corridors.
Concerning the issue of careful and efficient use of the water resources of the Amu Darya, it was noted that mutually beneficial and equal cooperation in the water management sphere is successfully implemented between Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. At the same time, it is expedient to study the possibilities of developing a new, integrated and systematic approach to joint activities in this direction.
Emphasizing the importance of cooperation in the energy sector, including in the gas industry, the Turkmen side proposed to consider the prospects for a strategic partnership in this area between Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. It was stated that the unconditional priority would be the supply of Turkmen natural gas to the nearest neighbors - Uzbekistan and Tajikistan.
In the context of developing joint cooperation in the transport and logistics sector, the Turkmen side emphasized the relevance of the Tajikistan-Uzbekistan-Turkmenistan transport route with access to seaports in the Gulf and the Caspian Sea. It was noted that this transit corridor can be effectively used for cargo transportation in the opposite direction, with further access to China.
During the press conference, the heads of the foreign affairs agencies noted the development of fruitful relations between the states in a bilateral format as well. In this context, the results of the state visits of the President of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhamedov to Uzbekistan in July 2022 and to Tajikistan in May 2023 were noted.
The ministers also briefed journalists on the main provisions of the final document adopted at the summit.
In this regard, it was emphasized that fruitful tripartite high-level talks would further expand the mutually beneficial partnership, both between the states participating in the summit and in the region as a whole.
