Central Asian leaders and Azerbaijan discuss regional cooperation in Avaza

Leaders of the five Central Asian states and Azerbaijan held the eighth Consultative Meeting on 8 October at the Avaza resort zone on the Caspian Sea coast in Turkmenistan. It is the first official meeting in this format since Azerbaijan became a full participant in November 2025. The presidents discussed the future of the consultative meetings, regional challenges and joint projects.

All leaders described trust and good neighbourliness as the basis of regional cooperation. Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev proposed keeping the meetings as a direct dialogue platform free of excessive formality. Turkmen President Serdar Berdimuhamedov called for expanding six-sided partnership in foreign policy, the economy and humanitarian fields.

On security, Tokayev listed terrorism, drug trafficking, illegal migration and organised crime as main threats. Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev described water scarcity as an increasingly serious obstacle to development. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said trade with Central Asian countries rose by more than 50% last year.