Central Asian Leaders Meet in Turkmenistan to Push Trade, AI and Security Cooperation

On October 8, Turkmenistan hosted a series of high-level meetings in the coastal resort of Avaza, culminating in the eighth Consultative Meeting of Central Asian heads of state and Azerbaijan, as well as a CIS council session. President Serdar Berdimuhamedov outlined five strategic objectives: strengthening the six-party format, ensuring regional stability, turning Central Asia and Azerbaijan into major east-west and north-south transport and industrial hubs, accelerating AI and technology development, and deepening cultural and educational links.

Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev used the forum to celebrate the signing of the 2022-2025 Friendship Treaty and stressed a minimalist institutional approach, while Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev announced plans to lift intra-regional trade from about $13 billion to $20 billion and to integrate emerging logistics centers into regional value chains, citing the Middle Corridor and a north-south route with Russia.

Both leaders called for greater cooperation in investment, energy and industry, and emphasized youth and scientific exchange, though the lingering case of detained Uzbek academic Ikboljon Qoraboyev highlighted gaps between rhetoric and practice. The meeting underscored both diplomatic progress and the challenges of turning agreements into concrete action.