ASTANA. Feb 28 (Interfax) - Astana will carry on its diversified foreign policy, while it views Central Asia and the United States as chief priorities, Kazakh Foreign Minister Mukhtar Tileuberdi said.
"As President Tokayev has noted, Kazakhstan will carry on its diversified, balanced foreign policy as our diplomatic priority. In this context, both Central Asia and the United States are our chief priorities, which makes the C5+1 format even more relevant to Kazakhstan as the format's host," Tileuberdi said at the opening ceremony of the C5+1 meeting.
The presence of foreign ministers at the meeting "exhibits a political will to bolster regional cooperation and enhance mutual resilience to geopolitical uncertainty," he said.
"We are happy to say that Secretary of State Blinken is committed to cooperation with Central Asia and is now paying his first visit to the region," Tileuberdi said.
Astana is hosting a ministerial meeting of the C5+1 format (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan plus the United States) with the participation of U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken.