Japan prepares for first summit with Central Asian countries

The Japanese government is making arrangements to host its first summit with five Central Asian countries, which could take place in Tokyo as early as mid-December.

Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan have been holding ministerial-level talks with Japan for more than 20 years, per NHK World.

A first summit was scheduled to be held in Kazakhstan in August last year, but it was postponed at the last minute because an advisory on a possible mega earthquake was issued in Japan.

The five Central Asian nations have close ties with Russia as they are former Soviet republics. China has also been stepping up engagement with them.

Japanese Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae hopes to make the summit an opportunity to deepen ties with the resource-rich nations, strengthen economic security and promote cooperation in a wide range of areas such as decarbonization technology and infrastructure building.

By Khagan Isayev