UPDATE - Turkey's foreign minister set to tour Turkic countries

UPDATES WITH MORE DETAILS, EDITS THROUGHOUT

By Havva Kara Aydin and Merve Aydogan

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey's foreign minister is scheduled to pay visits to Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan between March 5 and 10, the Foreign Ministry announced Thursday.

Mevlut Cavusoglu is slated to meet top Turkic officials during the visits, according to the ministry statement.

"Mevlut Cavusoglu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkey, will pay visits to Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and the Kyrgyz Republic between 5 and 10 March 2021, upon the invitations by his counterparts H.E. Mr. Rashid Meredov, Deputy Chairman of Cabinet of Ministers and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan, H.E. Mr. Abdulaziz Kamilov, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Uzbekistan and H.E. Mr. Ruslan Kazakbaev, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kyrgyz Republic," said a ministry statement.

As part of the visits, Cavusoglu is planned to meet with Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, President of Turkmenistan, Shavkat Mirziyoyev, President of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Sadyr Japarov, President of the Kyrgyz Republic, Ulukbek Maripov, Prime Minister of the Kyrgyz Republic and Sardor Umurzakov, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Investments and Foreign Trade of the Republic of Uzbekistan, according to the statement.

It said the second meeting of the Turkish-Uzbek Joint Strategic Planning Group and the fifth meeting of the Turkish-Kyrgyz Joint Strategic Planning Group will also be held during the visits.

Cavusoglu will also attend the official opening of the Turkish Consulate in Samarkand.

Bilateral relations, regional and international developments will be discussed during the visits, the statement added.