Today, August 5, an event dedicated to the preparation of the 7th Consultative Meeting of the Heads of State of Central Asia was held in the Congress Center of the Avaza National Tourist Zone under the chairmanship of the National Leader of the Turkmen People, Chairman of the Halk Maslahaty of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, TDH reports.

The meeting gained special status due to the fact that it is being held during the Third UN Conference on Landlocked Developing Countries, which is evidence of the growing authority of neutral Turkmenistan in the international arena.

The Consultative Meetings of the Heads of State of Central Asia held over the past years have demonstrated the effectiveness of this format, which contributes to the formation of a holistic view of the course and direction of regional cooperation, the definition of its priority vectors, based on the realities of the time and long-term prospects.

Opening the forum and welcoming the heads of state, Chairman of the Halk Maslahaty Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov thanked everyone for accepting the invitation to participate in the Third UN Conference on Landlocked Developing Countries, and also expressed gratitude for participating in the current meeting of the heads of state of Central Asia.

As Hero-Arkadag noted, this forum is a preparatory stage for the seventh Consultative Meeting of the Heads of State of Central Asia, which will be held in the capital of Uzbekistan - Tashkent.

During the event, the Chairman of the Halk Maslakhaty announced the decision to award the President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev with the Order "For Contribution to the Development of Cooperation" and read out the corresponding Decree of the President of Turkmenistan. Then a solemn ceremony of presenting the state award to the President of Uzbekistan took place.

The head of Uzbekistan was awarded this high award for his personal contribution to the development of bilateral friendly relations between Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, strengthening friendship, brotherhood and mutually beneficial cooperation between the Turkmen and Uzbek peoples, as well as enhancing the international authority of our country through his state and public activities.