At the end of July, the leaders of the six Central Asian countries and Azerbaijan signed a joint declaration in Cholpon-Ata, reaffirming the high level of trust between the states of the ‘CA-6’ format. This was reported by the news agency ‘Turkmenistan: Golden age’.

The meeting served as preparation for the 8th official Consultative Meeting of Heads of State, which is due to take place on 8 October 2026 in Turkmenistan’s ‘Awaza’ National Tourist Zone on the Caspian Sea.

This regional integration framework has taken shape over the past eight years. The first step was a meeting of Central Asian leaders in Astana, which laid the foundations for the ‘CA-5’ framework and aimed to strengthen trust between states, coordinate foreign policy and remove bureaucratic barriers. Over the course of the seven subsequent meetings, the countries resolved issues relating to the delimitation and demarcation of borders, established mechanisms for managing water and energy resources, increased trade, and established joint transport corridors.

The second step was Azerbaijan’s accession to the platform. Baku was granted guest-of-honour status, and its full membership was subsequently announced at the Seventh Consultative Meeting in Tashkent — thus establishing the ‘CA-6’ format. This gave the countries of the region access to Azerbaijan’s transport infrastructure and European markets.

The third step was an informal meeting of the leaders of the six countries in Cholpon-Ata. In addition to a joint declaration, the participants discussed issues relating to security, logistics, water management and energy.

At the forthcoming meeting in Awaza, the leaders plan to discuss regional security, trade and economic cooperation, energy, transport logistics, the environment, water resources, as well as humanitarian and youth cooperation.