President of Kyrgyzstan Sadyr Japarov, speaking at the 4th Consultative Meeting in Cholpon-Ata, noted that the international situation does not inspire optimism, new hybrid forms of extremism have appeared that threaten security in the region.
According to him, the situation in Afghanistan remains complex and unpredictable.
«The coming to power of the Taliban is a harsh reality, and we need to work out a joint line of behavior. Kyrgyzstan seeks close cooperation with the countries of the region, including on bilateral platforms,» Sadyr Japarov said.
He told colleagues that Kyrgyzstan is not getting an adequate response to the use of water resources and called for a balanced exchange. «It is necessary to strengthen the security of the unified energy system in Central Asia,» the head of the Kyrgyz Republic added.
Sadyr Japarov noted that the world economic center is shifting to Central Asia and new opportunities are opening up. «The driver of growth in Central Asia is free trade, investment and digitalization. Border centers with Kazakhstan should contribute to the intensification of trade,» he believes, noting that in order to step up and strengthen economic cooperation, tariff and non-tariff barriers should be completely removed.
The head of state also reproached his colleagues in the region for unreasonable cargo delays at the border. «It is necessary to improve the transport and transit infrastructure and develop railway corridors,» he concluded.
The first Consultative Meeting of the Heads of State of Central Asia was held in Nur-Sultan (2018), the second — in Tashkent (2019). In 2020, the summit was planned to be held in Kyrgyzstan, but due to the coronavirus pandemic, it was postponed for a year. Turkmenistan hosted the third meeting in August 2021.
