In 2024, Astana became a hub for a series of pivotal meetings that each marked as a significant “first” in regional diplomacy. On August 9, Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev welcomed the current leaders of the other four Central Asian countries – Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov, Tajik President Emomali Rahmon, Turkmen President Serdar Berdimuhamedov, and Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev. Following the precedent set at the fifth consultative meeting in Dushanbe in September 2023, the president of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, and the head of the United Nations Regional…
