President of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhamedov, speaking at the sixth Caspian summit, noted that the most important task and at the same time the main condition for the success of the five-sided cooperation is to ensure strong, long-term and indivisible security in the Caspian region.

“Together we must make sure that the Caspian region remains a zone of stability and trust, not subject to risks for peace and development,” emphasized the Turkmen leader.

Among the urgent tasks in this area, the head of state called the joint counteraction to terrorism, drug trafficking, organized crime, and any other illegal activity. According to him, here the cooperation of the countries of the region is called upon to be highly effective, uncompromising in nature, built on a systemic basis, principles of collegiality and openness.

According to the President of Turkmenistan, a significant function in this process is assigned to the channels of diplomatic communication, primarily the mechanism of five-sided regular consultations under the auspices of the ministries of foreign affairs at the level of special plenipotentiaries of the Caspian states.

“We consider it expedient to expand the powers of this cooperation mechanism by entrusting it with the coordination of the development of sectoral agreements. Among them, we attach particular importance to the completion of work on the Agreement on the Methodology for Establishing Direct Baselines in the Caspian Sea,” emphasized Serdar Berdimuhamedov.

The head of state also proposed to instruct the heads of foreign affairs agencies to periodically hold meetings on priority areas of cooperation on the five-sided agenda.