Oriented on making people closer

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Sri Lanka initiated its first Central Asia Forum, inviting politicians, diplomats, business leaders and experts from Central Asian countries to participate in the dialogue. The event, which took place on August 21, aimed to exchange views and ideas on shaping Sri Lanka’s future engagement with the region.

The two-session forum explored the strategic role of Central Asia in Eurasia and beyond, with a particular focus on the emergence of new transport and logistics corridors. As Sri Lanka seeks to strengthen its economic ties with the Central Asian region, the forum’s theme touched on synergies for mutual growth and prosperity.

The forum follows the recent decision to establish a permanent diplomatic mission of Sri Lanka in Kazakhstan and the holding of MFA consultations with Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan, the Sri Lankan Foreign Ministry noted.

The first session of the forum was attended by Director of the Center for Strategic Studies of the Institute of International Relations of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan Shiri Shiriyev. Speaking to colleagues via videoconference, he noted that today Central Asia is a region with rich natural resources, solid human potential and huge transport and transit opportunities, in which the geopolitical and geo-economic interests of many countries of the world are closely intertwined.

In Turkmenistan's foreign policy, a special place is given to the development of relations and partnership with neighboring countries and, first of all, with the states of Central Asia, as well as their closest neighbors, including the South Asian region, Shiriyev emphasized.

In his opinion, entering the international arena of the "CA+1" format is already providing favorable assistance to the constructive use of the region's capabilities for the benefit of the world community.

As for the development of trade relations between CA and Sri Lanka, a scientifically based analysis and realistic proposals are needed here, the expert said. Creation of a working body in this area would allow for a systematic and comprehensive determination of ways to solve problems of interregional trade turnover.

Shiriev called for the creation of channels for partnership dialogue on economic relations between Central Asian countries and interested South Asian states. He also drew attention to the transport sector as an important vector of interaction between Central Asian states with the aim of reaching other regions of the continent, including South Asia.

Another key component of the economy of the Central Asian states is energy. We are all conceptually united in our views on the configuration and prospects for partnership in this area, Shiri Shiriev noted. This was confirmed by the repeated and unanimous support by the states of the region for the UN General Assembly resolutions, initiated by Turkmenistan, on the reliability and stability of energy supplies as the most important factor in economic growth.

But today, more active actions are needed to form political, legal and economic conditions in Central Asia for sustainable energy partnership to meet intraregional demand for energy resources, as well as oriented towards the markets of neighboring regions.

For the Central Asian region, the main risks in the context of climate change are currently water and food security issues. In order to meet the growing needs of the population of Turkmenistan for food products, much attention is now being paid to increasing the volume of production and imports from countries with developed agriculture, among which Sri Lanka occupies a certain niche, the head of the Center for Strategic Studies of the Institute of International Relations of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan added.

ORIENT news

Photo: orient.tm