BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 5. Azerbaijan should
be included in the C5+1 format between the United States and
Central Asia, said Ambassador Richard Hoagland, Chairman of the
Board at the Caspian Policy Center (CPC), Trend reports.
He made the statement at the CPC event titled “A Decade of
Partnership: What Lies Ahead for C5+1?” held today.
“I would like to make one recommendation that I hope the C5
nations will discuss in Washington this week, especially during
their summit tomorrow,” Hoagland said. “That recommendation is to
institutionalize the C5 as an international organization – or
perhaps I should say the C6 – because Azerbaijan is increasingly
involved in all the meetings of the C5,” he said.
The ambassador compared this idea to the formation of ASEAN in
Southeast Asia and the Baltic Council. “When you have an
international organization, you gain greater influence on the
global stage,” he added.
Hoagland also noted that the five Central Asian nations are in a
particularly complex geopolitical environment. “They must engage
effectively with their neighbors – Russia, China, Iran, and
Afghanistan – as well as with more distant partners such as the
European Union and the United States,” he said. “The C5 countries
are managing this successfully, each in their own way”.
