At the seventh Central Asia Summit in Tashkent on Sunday, the leaders of Central Asia unanimously supported Azerbaijan's accession to this format as a full participant, announced the Uzbek president’s spokesman Sherzod Asadov.

"The president Shavkat Mirziyoyev emphasized that this step had opened a new stage of cooperation, creating a unified space for interaction between Central Asia and the South Caucasus," he noted.

Previously, the Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev attended the Central Asia Summits in Dushanbe in 2023 and Astana in 2024.

In his remarks, Shavkat Mirziyoyev highlighted key areas for the region's further development:

Reportedly, in a short period of time, Central Asia has moved from dialogue to genuine partnership: territorial issues have been resolved, borders have been opened, and cooperation in energy, transport, and trade has been established, and the regional trade figures reaching $10.7 billion, and investment growing by 17%.

Shavkat Mirziyoyev proposed to transform the meeting format into a strategic platform, the "Central Asian Community," create a Secretariat and Council of Elders, and elevate the status of national coordinators.

Countries in the region are capable of increasing the trade by 1.5-2 times. The president Mirziyoyev proposed to:

• adopting a Regional Program for Trade and Economic Cooperation until 2035;
• drafting a Declaration on a Common Investment Space;
• promoting the joint development of e-commerce.

Uzbekistan called for consolidating efforts to implement major projects—the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway, the Trans-Afghan Corridor, and the expansion of trans-Caspian routes, and proposed to set up an Infrastructure Development Council.

The Regional Security Concept and Risk Catalog have been filed for approval. Shavkat Mirziyoyev emphasized the importance of involving Afghanistan in regional energy and transport projects and proposed making the Fergana Peace Forum an annual international event.

Uzbekistan proposed declaring 2026-2036 the Decade of Practical Action for Rational Water Use in Central Asia and establishing a Regional Water Management Excellence Center.

He parties supported the development of scientific and cultural exchange and proposed holding an annual International Congress on Spiritual Heritage, establishing a Scientific Research Fund, and promoting a UN General Assembly resolution on the contribution of regional thinkers.

Shavkat Mirziyoyev concluded his speech by emphasizing the key point: Our strength lies in unity. Our path to success lies in friendship and cooperation.

Uzbekistan also congratulated Turkmenistan on assuming the chairmanship of the new "Central Asia and Azerbaijan" format and confirmed its readiness to provide comprehensive support.

Following the talks on Sunday, the Central Asian leaders signed a Joint Statement and the following accords:

- Appeal to UN Member States on the candidacy of the Kyrgyz Republic for non-permanent membership in the UN Security Council for 2027-2028;

- Decision on the full participation of the Republic of Azerbaijan in the Consultative Meeting of the Heads of State of Central Asia;

- Concept of Regional Security and Stability in Central Asia;

- Catalog of Security Risks in Central Asia and Measures to Prevent Them for 2026-2028.