Participation and speech at the eighth Consultative Meeting of the Heads of State of Central Asia and the Republic of Azerbaijan

At the start of his remarks, Emomali Rahmon thanked the President of Turkmenistan, Serdar Berdimuhamedov, for his hospitality and for the good organisation of the meeting, and congratulated Turkmenistan on its successful chairmanship of the Consultative Meeting of the Heads of State of Central Asia and Azerbaijan. He said Central Asia and Azerbaijan have substantial potential to expand cooperation in the economic, transport, energy and industrial spheres, and stressed that the region has ample resources for this. He also underlined the importance of more active use of digital and green technologies, innovation, and artificial intelligence in industry. The President of Tajikistan proposed preparing a list of priority energy projects and examining possible mechanisms for their joint financing. He also highlighted cooperation on climate change, glacier melting, declining water resources and dust storms, as well as stronger cooperation in security, education, culture, tourism, sport and youth policy.