JEDDAH — The first ever summit of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states and the five Central Asian countries will begin in Jeddah on Wednesday. Officials from the six GCC states as well as from the Central Asian countries of Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Kazakhstan will attend the summit. The summit will discuss ways to strengthen cooperation and coordination between the two sides in various fields. Uzbek Deputy Foreign Minister Bakhromjon Aloev described the first Gulf - Central Asian summit as historic, saying that it is a new form of interregional cooperation between two very important regions in the world in terms of geopolitics and geographical economy. Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper, he emphasized that cooperation between Central Asian countries and the GCC states carries strategic importance in view of the difficult international situation. Strengthening the existing relations between the two sides in modern circumstances meets the long-term interests of both regions, he said. Aloev also stressed that developing his country's relations with Saudi Arabia comes at the forefront of Uzbekistan's foreign policy priorities. "Saudi Arabia has great credibility and financial and economic capabilities not only in Arab and Islamic countries, but all over the world," he said. The summit is being held in light of the growing regional and international interest and competition in the five Central Asian countries, in view of its location and geostrategic importance, and the natural resources that these countries possess, which qualify them for great developmental leaps. Despite being landlocked countries, the Central Asian region "represents the heart of the earth," according to British geographer John Mackinder, one of the founders of geopolitics, stating that "whoever controls it controls the world." Dr. Abdulaziz bin Saqr, head of the Gulf Research Center, confirmed that Saudi Arabia and other GCC states have taken good steps towards developing cooperation with the Islamic countries in Central Asia," noting that "cooperation with these countries is a political, economic, security and cultural necessity." Among the common denominators between the two sides, Dr. Abdul Aziz talks about the economic interests between the two regions because of the important natural resources and wealth they possess, some of which are similar, such as oil and gas, as an important strategic issue at the top of the list of priorities of these relations, in addition to cooperation in confronting terrorism. The Gulf countries, especially Saudi Arabia, were among the first countries that were keen to develop their relations with the countries of Central Asia, based on the historical relations between the two sides and the fact that the region is a natural extension of the Gulf region, and for centuries it and the Arabs were part of a major Islamic empire.
