Central Asian ambassadors of Russia met in Ashgabat
On 18 October, the State Secretary, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Grigory Karasin held a regional meeting of the heads of Russian diplomatic missions in the countries of Central Asia, says Russian foreign ministry’s press release. The meeting discussed the main aspects of the regional situation, taking into account external facts, including the situation and the processes in motion in neighboring Afghanistan. In addition, the prospects for broadening Russia's multilateral cooperation with Central Asia in the framework of such regional and international structures as CIS, EAEU, CSTO and SCO have been analyzed. High-ranking diplomatic representatives reaffirmed the commitment of the Russian side to strategic partnership with the Central Asian nations based on the principles of mutual respect and aimed at ensuring stability in the region. The issues of building up trade-economic, cultural-humanitarian ties became a part of meeting’s agenda. The importance of diplomatic support for the implementation of joint infrastructure projects in the region was emphasized. This year, Russia and the Central Asian countries mark the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations. The solid legal basis embraces more than 890 bilateral and multilateral instruments. According to a recent article by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, published in Rossiyskaya Gazeta, the volume of Russian investment in the region is about US $ 20 billion. More than 7,500 Russian and joint ventures operate in CA countries. In H1 2017, the bilateral trade between Russia and the region has reached about US $ 11 billion. 150,000 students from Central Asia study in Russian universities and secondary vocational schools, 46,000 of them receive scholarships from the Russian federal budget.
