On January 16, 2023, in Riyadh, the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Kyrgyz Republic to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Ulukbek Maripov took part in a consultative meeting of the Ambassadors of the Central Asian countries in Saudi Arabia with the General Secretariat of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (GCC).

During the meeting, the parties discussed further steps to implement the results of the First Ministerial Meeting on Strategic Dialogue "GCC + Central Asia", which was held on September 7, 2022 in Riyadh with the participation of the heads of foreign affairs ministries.

In accordance with the Joint Action Plan for 2023-2027 adopted at the ministerial meeting, aimed at establishing practical cooperation in the areas of trade, investment, education, healthcare, culture, sports, etc., the parties also thoroughly reviewed the issues of preparing for the launch of a strategic dialogue at the level of heads of state in the format of "GCC + Central Asia" in 2023.

The meeting participants confirmed the common desire of their countries to further develop political, trade, economic, investment, cultural and humanitarian cooperation between the countries of Central Asia and the GCC member states.

As a result, the parties agreed to continue close coordinated work to promote the issues of interaction discussed at the meeting, in particular, to organize the Summit of the heads of state in the of “GCC + Central Asia” this year.

For reference: The Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf was established on May 25, 1981 and unites six states - the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar and Kuwait.