The development of cooperation with the new government of Afghanistan was discussed at a virtual meeting in the «C5 + 1» format of the foreign ministers of the Central Asian countries and the United States, held yesterday on the sidelines of the 76th session of the UN General Assembly, the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan reports.

 The ministers spoke in favor of a close consolidation of efforts aimed at alleviating the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan.  In this context, the importance of an open and mutually agreed dialogue with the new government in this country in all areas of mutual interest was emphasized.

 The US Secretary of State and the Foreign Ministers of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan reaffirmed the special importance of the C5 + 1 Regional Diplomatic Platform, noting its usefulness in facilitating critical negotiations throughout 2021 to coordinate the Afghan issue, COVID-19, economic ties  and the climate crisis.

 Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan Rashid Meredov, stressing the importance of regular meetings in this format, noted that this creates opportunities for broad discussion and adoption of urgent measures on topical issues of the regional and international agenda.

 The idea of ​​creating a special platform for active interaction of business structures of the countries of Central Asia and the United States was expressed.  The importance of strengthening and expanding the potential of the countries of this format in the field of economy, trade, investment and transport was noted.

 Within the framework of the virtual meeting, key areas of interaction between the Central Asian countries and the United States in the political, trade, economic and humanitarian fields were also discussed.  Among the priority areas of partnership, the development of the transport and transit potential of the region, the fight against climate change and environmental problems were announced.