Russia sees its main task as pursuing a balanced policy aimed at strengthening partnership, alliance and good-neighborliness, and preserving its role as a key partner of the Central Asian states. The statement came from Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin during his remarks at parliament’s meeting devoted to the geopolitical importance of the Central Asian region and economic aspects of the Russia’s Foreign Policy in Central Asia.
Galuzin emphasized the deep-rooted foundation of Russia-Central Asia relations, citing shared economic ties, a historical union, linguistic similarities, and cultural closeness.
Grigory Karasin, Chairman of the Federation Council’s Committee on International Affairs, outlined the extensive scope of collaborative efforts under the “Central Asia plus Russia” format. It encompasses security, economic and trade matters, agricultural and food security, transportation, energy, environmental protection, healthcare, and humanitarian projects.
“Parliamentarians also pay great attention to strengthening relations with partners from Central Asian countries,” he said.
The lawmaker mentioned the first Interparliamentary Forum of Central Asian and Russian States held in Ashgabat last year. “The forum showed the relevance of direct dialogue between parliamentarians from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Russia on the most pressing problems of the Central Asian region,” Karasin stressed.
The meeting was attended by representatives of the Ministry of Economic Development, the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Ministry of Science and Higher Education, the Ministry of Education of Russia, as well as experts from leading scientific institutes and research centers. ///nCa, 20 December 2023