Both the meeting between the Uzbekistani and Kazakhstani presidents in the city of Khiva in April 2024 and the Shavkat Mirziyoyev’s state visit to Tajikistan paid special attention to the development of regional cooperation, in particular to the further deepening of cooperation within the framework of the Consultative Meetings of the Heads of States of Central Asia. These meetings Central Asian leaders, initiated by Mirziyoyev in 2017, clearly reflect efforts aimed at transforming the region into a unified space with rapidly developing trade, investment, transportation and communications potential. However, there is another crucial issue that, in our view, remains unchanged. This concerns regional integration related to the historical, cultural and civilisational unity of our countries, which has not yet been implemented in practice. The first step in the development of regional integration is an understanding of what the Central Asian