Thank you very much, Minister [of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan, Rashid Meredov], for your kind words and for your hospitality. 

I think it’s very important to have this Ministerial meeting with Central Asia.

And I’m here in my first months of being in office. That shows how much importance we give to the region.

I’m happy that we will also have the Leaders’ Summit already next week.

I think this is extremely important that this happens at this time.

It will be an important milestone in our relationship. We attach great importance to the success of this Summit.

And we are here to prepare this successful Summit so I look forward to the cooperation in this regard.

I also want to introduce my new Special Representative for Central Asia, Mr Eduards Stiprais.

He is my contact in the region and will be very tightly working with all of you to enhance our cooperation even further.

We have many points of cooperation and we will discuss them today.

In our foreign policy, it is important that the EU and Central Asia continue to seek convergences.

It is crucial that we uphold our commitment to the United Nations Charter and the rules-based international order.

At a time of increasing global hostility, it is particularly important to stand by the principles that respect the independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity of all countries. 

Security and resilience are central for all our societies and economies. On these issues, we will explore ways of working together more closely with your countries in the future.

We are all now facing the acute effects of climate change on our lives and resources, including water scarcity. This is something that you know in this region very well.

To address this in a sustainable way, we can work also more closely together both regionally but also globally. 

There is great potential to improve sustainable connectivity in this region. The development of the Trans-Caspian Transport Network is part of this. 

Dear Ministers, the EU supports your reform processes. These create the conditions for a mutually beneficial partnership with the European Union. 

Our cooperation must be based on common values of respect for the rule of law, democracy and fundamental rights. This remains a strong pillar of our engagement.

As I said at the beginning, we really want to engage with you for the long-term – as a predictable and reliable partner for Central Asia.

You can count on us today as you can for the foreseeable future.

I wish us all a productive meeting.