The first trilateral summit of the heads of state of Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan took place in Turkmenistan’s capital, Ashgabat, on August 4. 

Turkmenistan’s Foreign Ministry says that opening the summit, President of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhamedov noted that the first meeting of the heads of Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan in a trilateral format is a significant and deeply natural event that corresponds to the logic of our cooperation and reflects its consistent nature.

He, in particular, noted that energy is one of the most important areas of partnership.  In this context, the head of Turkmenistan reportedly spoke about the expediency of creating a self-sufficient model of cooperation that would provide the growing energy needs of the three countries and the necessary margin of safety for national energy systems.

A priority place in the cooperation between Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan is also given to the transport sector. The countries occupy a key geographical position in the transport and transit communication between Asia and Europe. This opens up tremendous opportunities for creating a full-fledged logistics hub on the territory of the three states, connecting the two parts of the Eurasian continent. In this context, the President of Turkmenistan spoke in favor of combining efforts to form a unified transport strategy. It was also noted that cooperation in this area could largely ensure reaching agreements with international partners.

At the same time, the head of Turkmenistan reportedly stressed the need to more purposefully jointly conduct coordinated transport diplomacy on the world stage, which provides for active work with specialized structures - the UN Economic Commission for Europe, the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, the International Road Transport Union, the Organization for the Cooperation of Railway roads.

Speaking at the meeting, Tajik President Emomali Rahmon stressed the importance of the Ashgabat Summit as a new important chapter in the history of traditionally friendly interstate relations, according to the Tajik president’s official website. 

At the same time, Rahmon reportedly emphasized that, thanks to the favorable political atmosphere that has been formed in recent years, an active process of expansion of economic and trade relations is ongoing in Central Asia, which lays the foundation for the stable development of the countries.

Regarding cooperation in energy, water and climate, the leader of Tajikistan, taking into account its rich hydropower resources, set a goal to develop the production of "green energy".  While drawing attention to climate change in recent years, the President of Tajikistan pointed to the importance of Tajikistan's global initiatives in the fields of water and climate, which serve common interests and enjoy the support of the international community.

Rahmon also spoke in favor of intensifying partnerships in the transport sector, which will further contribute to ensuring the sustainability of national economies.

Speaking at the summit, Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev noted that the dialogue between states, based on the historical traditions of friendship and good neighborliness, commonality of long-term goals and interests, is acquiring a qualitatively new content. In recent years, a steady growth has been observed in almost all areas of cooperation.

He noted that the countries have great opportunities for building up mutually beneficial cooperation in trade, economic, investment, energy, transport, communications and other areas.  An important area is also agriculture and water management, the Uzbek leader said.  In this regard, a number of proposals were made, including on enhancing cooperation in the field of introducing advanced water-saving technologies, digitalization of water management processes, using the potential of IFAS in these matters, as well as cooperation through partner organizations and structures.

Turkmenistan’s Foreign Ministry says that in continuation of the summit, Philipp Saprykin, Deputy Head of the UN Regional Center for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia, spoke about the activities of UNRCCA.  As emphasized, over the past 30 years of progressive development, the states of the region have achieved significant success. Today Central Asia is in many aspects a model of regional cooperation.  The Central Asian countries are reportedly making a significant contribution to counteracting global challenges, in response to which the UN Secretary General has put forward a New Agenda for the World.

As a result of the meeting, the Joint Declaration of the heads of state of Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan was adopted.

TDH reports that the document reflects topical issues of regional cooperation, which were discussed at the meeting. 

The heads of state reportedly expressed their desire to further develop cooperation in the political, trade, economic, cultural and humanitarian spheres.

The readiness to continue strengthening cooperation between Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan within the framework of international organizations, primarily in the United Nations, as well as on other international and regional platforms was especially emphasized.