AKIPRESS.COM - Russia maintains relations of strategic partnership and alliance with the Central Asian states in almost all areas of cooperation in the bilateral format as well as in the framework of the CIS, CSTO and other integration organisations, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said during the International High-Level Conference on Afghanistan: “Peace Process, Security Cooperation and Regional Connectivity" in Tashkent on March 27.

Central Asia has a special place among Russia’s foreign political priorities, he said. "Economic ties are making good progress. We productively cooperate with Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan in the framework of the Eurasian Economic Union. In total, Russian investment in the region is $20 billion, with over 7,500 Russian and joint companies working there," he said.

During the last nine years, the total volume of our aid to Central Asian countries, including participation in the programmes of the UN and other multilateral institutions, has exceeded $6 billion, he said.

"Cooperation between law enforcement agencies is also developing dynamically. We provide significant help to the Central Asian states, sometimes without compensation, in order to strengthen their armed forces and special services," Lavrov said.

"We can state with satisfaction that recently relations inside the five Central Asian states have shown positive dynamics. This means not only conditions to resolve interregional problems, but also to contribute more effectively to assisting Afghanistan," he added.