The other day, in the capital of Kyrgyzstan, Bishkek, a conference was held in a hybrid format on the topic «China and the countries of Central Asia». The forum was initiated and organized by the Institute for Strategic Studies (RUSI) of Great Britain and representatives of the OSCE Academy in Bishkek.
Representatives of the expert community of most of the Central Asian republics gathered in Bishkek to exchange views on topical issues. In an online format, experts shared their vision of the relationship between the Central Asian republics of the region and China.
At the forum, experts and analysts A.Kanatbekova from Kyrgyzstan, A.Mussabekova from Kazakhstan, P.Mullojanov from Tajikistan, T.Umarov from Uzbekistan and many others expressed their expert opinion on the prospects for cooperation between the republics of the region and the Celestial Empire. Turkmenistan was represented online at the conference by an employee of the Scientific Centre for Strategic Studies of the Institute of International Studies of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan D. Mammedov.
In his speech, D. Mammedov, highlighting the historical aspect of the connection between the peoples of the Central Asian region and China, noted that in the process of long-term communication between countries and their peoples, a huge and unique experience of interaction, exchange of knowledge and achievements in almost all areas of human life has been accumulated. And most importantly, strong relations of friendship and good neighborliness have been established between the countries. He also noted that at the current stage, the peaceful foreign policy of the President of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhamedov is being successfully implemented, including in specific economic projects in the Turkmen-Chinese direction.
Experts at the forum noted that it is no coincidence that the key vector of the China + Central Asia partnership is energy. It is common knowledge that the developing economy of the PRC requires the import of energy capacities. In this regard, a great success of the Turkmen and Chinese diplomacy is the gas pipeline «Turkmenistan - China», which has become a clear evidence of Turkmenistan's commitment to the principle of using its energy resources for the benefit of all mankind.
Not so long ago, the states of the region celebrated the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations with China. Three decades of mutual trust, friendship and close cooperation have shown that by observing the basic principles of mutual respect, good neighborliness, friendship of peoples, mutual assistance and mutual benefit, China and the countries of Central Asia were able to build healthy and effective interstate relations of a new type.
