On June 18, the Ministers of Education of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan met to adopt the Turkestan Declaration establishing the Central Asian Higher Education Area. The declaration was adopted in Russian and is also available in English.

The European Higher Education Area (EHEA), of which Kazakhstan is a member, provides part of the inspiration for the new Central Asian Higher Education Area. As a key actor in the EHEA, the Council of Europe was invited to contribute to the Ministerial Conference. The Head of its Education Department, Sjur Bergan, greeted participants at the opening and later in the conference provided an analysis of the experience of the European Higher Education Area with a view to identifying lessons learned that could be of particular relevance to Central Asia.