President of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhamedov is taking part in the second Central Asia–China summit, being held at the Palace of Independence in Astana, as reported by Turkmenistan’s official media on Tuesday.

The summit brings together the leaders of China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan, including Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Central Asian counterparts.

The summit’s agenda covers a broad range of issues aimed at strengthening multilateral cooperation. Key topics include expanding political dialogue, deepening trade and economic ties, developing transit and transport links, and enhancing cooperation in energy and innovation. Special attention is being paid to ensuring regional security.

The Central Asia–China format is a relatively new platform for regional engagement, launched in 2020. Since then, the leaders of the six participating countries have held two previous summits — the first virtually in January 2022 and the second in person in Xi’an, China, in May 2023.

On the sidelines of the summit, President Berdimuhamedov held a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday.