On October 27, 2026, the next meeting of authorized representatives of the Caspian littoral states began at the Caspian Sea Institute in Ashgabat. The main issue on the agenda is the discussion of the draft Agreement between the Governments of the Caspian littoral states on cooperation in the field of marine scientific research in the Caspian Sea.

This document is being prepared in accordance with the initiative put forward by the Chairman of the Halk Maslakhaty of Turkmenistan, National Leader of the Turkmen people Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, at the V Caspian Summit held on August 12, 2018, in Aktau. At that summit, the National Leader of the Turkmen people proposed the development of a dedicated pentalateral agreement that would create a systematic foundation for conducting joint scientific research in the Caspian Sea.

Previous rounds of negotiations on this draft confirmed the interest of all coastal states in developing common approaches. It is expected that the current meeting will allow progress to be made in agreeing upon the remaining provisions of the draft.

The work of the authorized representatives will conclude on October 28, 2026.