Kazakhstan unveils new cultural initiatives for C5+1 cooperation
In November 2025, President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev participated in the Central Asia–United States Summit in Washington in November 2025. Following the summit, new areas of cooperation among the participating states were identified, Qazinform News Agency reports, citing the Kazakh Ministry of Culture and Information.
In furtherance of these agreements, on Friday, Tashkent hosted a Meeting of the Ministers of Culture of Central Asian countries and the United States of America in the C5+1 format. Kazakhstan was represented by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Culture and Information Aida Balayeva. The meeting was also attended by US Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs Sarah Rogers.
During the event, the sides discussed prospects for developing cultural and people-to-people cooperation.
Minister Balayeva noted that the heads of state adopted a joint statement on cultural heritage preservation during their summit. The statement reaffirmed their shared commitment to protecting cultural assets, developing museum partnerships, and digitizing cultural heritage. Expanding the cooperation format will now allow for more active joint work, particularly in culture and creative industries, including digital projects, professional exchanges, tourism routes, and international partnerships among C5+1 countries.
Following the meeting, participants signed a protocol of the Central Asian and US culture ministers' meeting, reaffirming their commitment to implementing the provisions of the joint statement on cultural heritage preservation and agreeing to continue developing cooperation through joint events and festivals in art, literature, theater, cinema, and music.
On the sidelines of the C5+1 culture ministers' meeting, Aida Balayeva also held a bilateral meeting with Sarah Rogers. The talks focused on bilateral cooperation in culture, projects related to artificial intelligence, and other key areas.
In conclusion, both sides expressed confidence that the agreements reached at the C5+1 culture ministers' meeting will serve as a foundation for further expanding their partnership.
As Qazinform News Agency reported, on 7th November 2025, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev attended the C5+1 summit, where he highlighted it as the beginning of a new era of cooperation between Central Asia and the United States.