President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has sent letters of gratitude to President of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhamedov and to the National Leader of the Turkmen people, Chairman of the Halk Maslahaty Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, the Turkmen state news agency TDH reported.
In both letters, President Aliyev expressed deep appreciation for Turkmenistan’s strong support of the decision – adopted at the 7th Consultative Meeting of Central Asian Heads of State in Tashkent to grant Azerbaijan member status in the regional format.
In his message to President Serdar Berdimuhamedov, Aliyev stressed that the decision “once again confirms the friendly and fraternal nature of our relations” and will significantly strengthen cooperation across a vast geographic space.
He noted that the Tashkent outcomes clearly demonstrated the region’s commitment to expanding multilateral partnership in politics, economy, transport, energy, security and humanitarian fields.
In the letter addressed to National Leader Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, the Azerbaijan’s President highly praised his personal stance, quoting: “I greatly value your position that Azerbaijan’s accession to the Consultative Meeting format – as a state with considerable political authority and economic power – is a historic event that will give new impetus to raising the role of the Central Asian region on the global stage.”
Aliyev underlined that Azerbaijan and the Central Asian nations together form a single historical, cultural and geopolitical space whose importance continues to grow, reaffirming Baku’s firm commitment to deepening and diversifying mutually beneficial cooperation both with Turkmenistan and with the wider region.
The Azerbaijani leader also extended warm congratulations to Turkmenistan on assuming the rotating chairmanship of the Consultative Meeting in 2026 and accepted the invitation to next year’s summit, which will be held for the first time in the expanded “Central Asia + Azerbaijan” format.
/// nCa, 27 November 2025