The Consultative Meetings, launched in 2018 among Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, were established to strengthen interstate cooperation and promote a peaceful, stable and united Central Asia. “Today, the borders of Central Asia are no longer barriers; they have become bridges of friendship and gateways for trade,” Tilebeliev said. The summit also coincided with high-level state visits by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev to Kyrgyzstan. He also stressed the potential for linking the CKU railways with the Middle Corridor and the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, creating new multimodal routes connecting Central Asia with South Asia, the Caspian region and Europe. For Pakistan, Tilebeliev said, the emerging trans-Caspian connectivity framework could offer significant economic and strategic dividends, given the country’s position at the crossroads of South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East.