As a result of the first Inter-Parliamentary Forum of the States of Central Asia and Russia, held in Ashgabat on the initiative of the Chairman of the Hero-Arkadag Gurbanuly Berdimuhamedov, a new format of interstate cooperation was created, called the "Ashgabat format".

Deputy Prime Minister, Foreign Minister of Turkmenistan Rashid Meredov spoke about this at a government meeting via video link.

According to him, one of the key aspects of Turkmenistan's foreign policy is the promotion of parliamentary diplomacy, the role of which has increased significantly in the modern world. In this regard, Meredov stressed the importance of the Inter-Parliamentary Forum of the States of Central Asia and Russia, held in Ashgabat at a high organizational level on the initiative of Hero-Arkadag and with the assistance of President Serdar Berdimuhamedov.

Within the framework of this meeting, bilateral documents were signed, including the Cooperation Agreement between the Halk Maslakhaty of the Milli Gengesh of Turkmenistan and the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, the Cooperation Agreement between the Halk Maslakhaty of the Milli Gengesh of Turkmenistan and the Majlisi Milli Majlisi Oli of the Republic of Tajikistan.

Also, following the results of the Forum, the Ashgabat Declaration was adopted.

Rashid Meredov stressed that the new partnership format, created on the initiative of the Hero-Arkadag Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, called the Ashgabat format, confirmed its relevance as an effective platform for discussing topical issues of inter-parliamentary cooperation, developing proposals for strengthening it and filling it with new content. An agreement was also reached on the formation of a secretariat of this structure with headquarters in the Turkmen capital.