Azerbaijan has joined the format of the consultative meetings of the Central Asian countries as a full-fledged participant.

Axar.az reports that this was stated by the President of Uzbekistan, Shavkat Mirziyoyev, during his speech at the 7th Consultative Meeting of the Heads of State of Central Asia.

He noted that the "Central Asia + Azerbaijan" format will build a strong bridge between Central Asia and the South Caucasus, paving the way for the formation of a single cooperation space.

According to him, this will give a powerful impetus to development and open up new horizons for economic-trade, investment, and cultural-humanitarian cooperation, as well as help in the preparation of joint decisions on issues of sustainable development:

"All this will undoubtedly strengthen the strategic interaction and stability of both regions. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to all my esteemed colleagues for adopting this important decision and congratulate Ilham Aliyev on joining the format of the consultative meetings as a full-fledged participant."