President Tokayev suggests establishing Caspian food hub

Addressing the 6th Summit of the Heads of the Caspian States, the Kazakh Head of State highlighted that the importance of the Caspian Sea is increasing due to its transit capacity, natural resources, and geo-location.

«The special significance of the Caspian Sea is increasing due to its geo-strategic location, rich natural resources, as well as the unique transit potential amid the unprecedented «global storm»,» said the Kazakh President.

He went on to note that the Aktau Summit proved to the entire world community that the Caspian countries were able to address the most difficult issues by exclusively peaceful means and in a spirit of good neighborliness and friendship.

It was evidenced by the signature of the Convention on the legal status of the Caspian Sea after the years-long talks, which laid the strong legal foundation for the comprehensive enhancement of interaction between the five countries.

Tokayev presented the vision of the perspective approaches to further cooperation to fully harness the Caspian States' capacity. First, the early entry of the Convention is the top objective. Second, the role of the Trans-Caspian international transport route has risen significantly to ensure transit flows between Europe, Central Asia, and China. A Caspian food hub to enhance trade turnover with minimal costs can be established. Third, greater food security in the region becomes more relevant. Fourth, one of the focuses of our cooperation is to save the ecosystem of the Caspian Sea. Fifth, the key provisions with regard to the protection of the marine environment of the Caspian Sea were laid out in the 2003 Teheran Convention. Though almost 20 years have passed since its signature, the issue of the establishment of a Secretariat has not been addressed.

Earlier it was reported that Kassym-Jomart Tokayev arrived in Ashgabat for the 6th Summit of the Heads of the Caspian States upon invitation of the President of Turkmenistan.