Riyadh (UNA / SPA) - The countries of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf and the countries of Central Asia (C5) (the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, the Republic of Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and the Republic of Uzbekistan) bring together common bonds as they are Islamic countries, which are members of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and among them are values joint historical ties, and has large oil and gas resources; It qualifies it to play an influential role in global energy security.
In order to strengthen these relations and push them forward, the Kingdom's hosting of the Gulf Summit with Central Asian countries (C5) coincides with the eighteenth consultative meeting. It reflects the interest of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and Prince Muhammad bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Crown Prince and Prime Minister, in strengthening relations between the GCC and Central Asian countries (C5) and raising the level of coordination between them regarding files and issues of common concern.
The convening of the Gulf Summit with the (C5) countries in the Kingdom reflects the participating countries' appreciation of the Kingdom's position at the Gulf, Islamic and international levels, and their commitment to establishing an ambitious future strategic partnership between their countries, through a joint action plan in the areas of political and security dialogue, and economic and investment cooperation.
The importance of holding the summit lies in the fact that it is the first of its kind, and it reflects the openness of the GCC countries, led by the Kingdom, to partnerships with active blocs in the international community. With the aim of strengthening the position of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf globally.
In order for the leaders of the Cooperation Council to sense the importance of relations with the countries of Central Asia, the Secretary-General of the Cooperation Council held the first high-level meeting with the foreign ministers of Central Asian countries, with the participation of His Excellency Dr. Abdullatif bin Rashid Al-Zayani, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Bahrain. Clarify the importance of the region for the GCC countries and the desire to start a strategic dialogue with them.
The participants in the high-level ministerial meeting stressed the importance of Gulf relations with Central Asian countries, and the aspiration to enhance cooperation and coordination in areas of common interest to serve common interests, strengthen bridges of communication and work to seize opportunities and develop coordination and cooperation mechanisms.
And in pursuit of the Cooperation Council and the Central Asian Group to develop relations in order to achieve common interests, the first joint ministerial meeting of the strategic dialogue was held in Riyadh on September 07, 2022, chaired by Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah, the Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs.
The ministers affirmed their commitment to establishing a strong and ambitious future partnership between their countries, based on common values and interests, the deep historical ties between their peoples, and the existing cooperation between them, at the bilateral and multilateral levels, and in various fields.
The ministers also confirmed what was agreed upon regarding joint cooperation. To enhance global economic recovery efforts and address the complications resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic, recovery of supply chains, transportation and communication, food security, energy security, water security, development of green energy sources and technologies, facing environmental challenges and climate change, education, and exchange of best practices and experiences in all sectors. areas, creating business opportunities and supporting investment, through appropriate trade and investment mechanisms on both sides, in addition to stressing the importance of the link between the principles, goals and priorities contained in the concept of interaction for Central Asian countries in the multilateral framework approved by the heads of state of Central Asia on July 21, 2022 in Cholbon. Ata, Kyrgyzstan, and the decisions of the Cooperation Council on building cooperation with Central Asian countries.
To achieve these goals, the joint action plan for strategic dialogue and cooperation between the GCC and Central Asian countries for the period 2023-2027 was adopted, including political and security dialogue, economic and investment cooperation, enhancing communication between peoples, and establishing effective partnerships between the business sector in the GCC and Asian countries. Central, and the ministers emphasized taking the necessary measures for the rapid implementation of this plan to the fullest extent, at the bilateral and multilateral levels.
On the commercial level, the volume of exchange between the countries of the Cooperation Council and the countries of Central Asia amounted to about $3.1 billion in 2021, or about 0.27% of the total volume of merchandise trade of the Cooperation Council.
While the value of the GCC exports to the countries of the group amounted to about $2.06 billion in 2021, compared to imports of about $1.03 billion.
The maximum percentage of merchandise exports from the Cooperation Council to the countries of the group amounted to 0.37% in the year 2020 AD, while the maximum percentage of merchandise imports to the GCC countries reached 0,21%, in the year 2021 AD.
Machinery and electrical appliances constituted the most important commodities exported to the countries of the Central Asian group, with a value of about $0.98 billion, or about 47.6% of the total commodity exports from the Council to these countries amounting to $2.06 billion.
Copper and its products exported the most important commodities imported from the countries of the group, with a value of $ 0.45 billion in the year 2021 AD, or about 43.7% of the total commodity imports from these countries, followed by gold, precious metals and precious stones, and iron and steel by about 24,3% each.
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