Last week, Jeddah hosted the participants of the «Central Asia–Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf» Summit.
The current Summit was notable for the fact that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia simultaneously hosted the 18th Consultative Meeting of Leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and the «Central Asia - Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf» Summit. According to political scientists and experts, the main goal of the Summit was to stimulate interaction and intensify cooperation between the GCC countries and Central Asian states. I am sure that this abbreviation, which is still unfamiliar to many people, the GCC, as well as the new, recently created format for economic cooperation and a place for the exchange of experts' opinions, will soon become familiar to both politicians and experts in the region.
Recall that the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf is a regional international organization, which unites Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, the UAE, Oman and Saudi Arabia. The main goal of the organization, established in 1981, is coordination, cooperation and integration in all economic, social and cultural affairs.
As the influence of the organization has grown, it has become an independent player in the system of regional relations. In addition, in recent years, the member states of the organization have gained great political and economic weight, becoming a major force in the Arab geopolitical space. This was caused by their rapid socio-economic transformation, the achievement of a higher level of economic development than in other Arab countries due to the possession of significant energy resources, as well as political stability based on a high degree of legitimacy of the ruling regimes.
Within the framework of the organization's activities, the GCC member states jointly built a security system, determined their positions on the most important problems of the Arab world, seeking to protect their interests and enhance their role in the system of regional relations.
They are historically closely related to each other, their social structure is also identical and is determined by the commonality of economic activity, which was based in the pre-oil period on nomadic cattle breeding and sea-related trades: fishing, ship building, pearling. All of them became oil-producing countries, which led to the expansion and deepening of their cooperation. Their belonging to the Arab-Muslim world with its civilizational and cultural specifics became another important component of the development of integration trends.
According to economic experts, the volume of trade operations between the member countries has significantly increased recently, and projects are being implemented to create a unified power grid and transport: highways and railroads. Another achievement of economic cooperation has been the creation of joint ventures, primarily in industry. The GCC countries have achieved a reduction in the negative impact of the oil industry on the environment. They have developed a common strategy in the field of water use. Its goals are to protect water resources, prevent pollution of sea water and soil due to economic activities and waste dumping. Attention is also paid to other environmental projects.
The presence of all these circumstances and the desire of the GCC countries for mutual cooperation in the economic, cultural and humanitarian spheres with other regions, pushed the Central Asian states, including Turkmenistan, to establish relations with the GCC. This led to the first ministerial meeting (at the level of heads of foreign ministries) of the «Central Asia–Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf» Strategic Dialogue, held in Riyadh last September. It resulted in the adoption of a Joint Statement and a draft Joint Action Plan for 2023-2027 (Roadmap) aimed at establishing practical cooperation in the areas of trade, investment, education, healthcare, culture and sports.
As a participant of that meeting, R. Meredov, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan, noted that the meeting is considered by Turkmenistan as the first step towards the creation of a full-scale format of interaction between the Central Asian states and the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf. The Foreign Minister of Turkmenistan also stressed that, in the opinion of the Turkmen side, it is the beginning of the process of systematization, streamlining and giving a long-term nature and sustainability to the entire complex of relations between the countries, justified historically and demanded by modern realities and needs.
It is worth recalling that last August in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan and the Cooperation Council for the Arab Countries of the Gulf signed a Memorandum of Understanding aimed at intensifying relations, primarily in the fields of trade, economy, energy, water and food security.
And now there is an event that goes far beyond regional cooperation. There have been held the first ever Summit of the countries of two regions - Central Asian states and Arab Gulf countries. A powerful and promising platform for interregional cooperation has been created in order to expand the dialog between the countries, successfully develop trade, economic, cultural and humanitarian ties.
President of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhamedov attended the Summit. Talking to a representative of the Embassy of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in Ashgabat before his flight to Jeddah, the Turkmen leader noted that bilateral relations are always friendly and dynamically developing in the whole range of cooperation. The head of state also noted that along with mutually beneficial trade and economic ties, great importance is attached to fruitful cultural and humanitarian contacts.
Turkmenistan and Saudi Arabia constructively cooperate within the framework of authoritative international and regional organizations and structures. During the conversation, confidence was expressed that the current visit and participation of President Serdar Berdimuhamedov in the GCC + Central Asia Summit will serve to activate productive partnership on both bilateral and multilateral basis. There was no doubt that this would be the case.
In Jeddah, the summit was attended by the leaders of the Council's member countries and Central Asian states: Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan.
In his speech, the President of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhamedov noted that today a difficult international political and economic situation is developing in various regions of the world, and this circumstance requires consolidation of efforts and an adequate response to the existing global challenges and threats. In this regard, the Head of Turkmenistan put forward a number of proposals and initiatives at the Summit. In particular, in order to enhance interregional cooperation, it was suggested to create a permanent mechanism - the Meeting of Foreign Ministers of Central Asia and the GCC, as well as to develop new transport and transit corridors, stable logistics infrastructure, establish a transport committee of the countries of the «Central Asia-GCC» format, and create a joint working group on energy.
In addition, the President of Turkmenistan considered it necessary to discuss the creation of the Chamber of Commerce of a new format of cooperation. In this regard, it was proposed to hold the First Investment Forum of the countries of the Central Asia and the Gulf Cooperation Council in Turkmenistan in 2024. Proposals were made concerning cooperation in the fields of healthcare, sports and humanitarian relations.
The initiatives and speech of the President of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhamedov clearly demonstrated that at the current stage, the Turkmen-Saudi cooperation, based on a solid foundation of mutual respect and trust, is gaining new content in cooperation, including within the framework of a new format.
In this case, an important factor is the historically established commonality of spiritual and moral values, uniting the two fraternal peoples, demonstrating adherence to their ancestral wise traditions.
The participation of the Head of Turkmenistan in the Summit was another evidence of our country's commitment to an active and proactive position in building up constructive bilateral and multilateral cooperation, giving it new dynamic and long-term nature, optimal realization of the existing economic and humanitarian potential for the sake of common welfare and sustainable development.
