The meeting was originally scheduled for August, but due to the pandemic, it was rescheduled for autumn.

“Unfortunately, due to the prevailing circumstances with the pandemic and the continuing uncertainty with the deadlines for overcoming it, it is unlikely that it will be possible to hold the third consultative meeting before the end of this year,” he said in an interview with “Pravda Vostoka”.

“This does not mean that our plans on increasing and deepening regional cooperation have slowed down. For all five Central Asian States, multilateral cooperation is of high importance as a factor for creating new opportunities and advantages for increasing trade links, attracting investment flows and integrating the countries of the region into global supply chains,” the Minister added.

According to him, the strengthening of cooperation remains key to ensuring the sustainable development and security of the region.

Kamilov reported that Turkmenistan proposes to host the Summit next year.

“As co-chairman of the Consultative Council, we fully support the proposal of Turkmenistan and hope to hold the next Central Asian consultative summit with a broad and substantive program. After the summit in Turkmenistan, we could return to the invitation of our Kyrgyz friends about the organization of the consultative meeting in Bishkek,” the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stressed.