Photo: president.tj
Participants in the eighth Consultative Meeting of the Heads of State of Central Asia and Azerbaijan, held on October 8 in the Avaza national tourist zone in Turkmenistan, put forward proposals to develop regional cooperation in trade, energy, transport and industry, the press service of the Uzbek president reported.
The summit, chaired by Turkmen President Serdar Berdimuhamedov, was attended by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov, Tajik President Emomali Rahmon and Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev. The leaders exchanged views on current regional and international issues and discussed prospects for closer cooperation.
Tokayev proposed instructing governments to draw up a joint action plan to raise intra-regional trade from about $13 billion to $20 billion. He also called for adopting a Framework Convention of Central Asia on Water Use and creating an International Water Organization under UN auspices. In addition, he urged the preparation of a Central Asian Partnership Program on artificial intelligence (AI) and a Declaration on the Responsible Use of AI by the states of Central Asia and Azerbaijan.
The Kazakh president also focused on improving the format of the consultative meetings.
«Since 2018, more than 200 initiatives have been put forward, but only a small share of them have been implemented,» Tokayev said. He proposed that foreign ministries take stock of regional initiatives and assess their relevance and prospects.
Japarov paid particular attention to industrial cooperation. He proposed that governments identify specific mutually beneficial projects in agricultural processing, light industry, construction materials and logistics, specifying participants, sources of financing and timelines. He also proposed creating a unified e-commerce platform for Central Asia and Azerbaijan to widen business and consumer access to regional products.
Japarov also highlighted the construction of the China–Kyrgyzstan–Uzbekistan railway, which he said would open additional opportunities for integrating the region into international transport and production chains. He stressed the importance of protecting glaciers and mountain ecosystems and proposed developing tourism under the principle of «one journey, several countries,» citing the region's complementary tourism potential.
Rahmon pointed to the region's significant potential for closer economic, transport and energy cooperation. He proposed drawing up a list of priority energy projects with joint financing mechanisms, considering the construction of a large oil refinery to serve the entire region, and developing a regional «green» transition strategy. He also stressed the need to develop multimodal routes, simplify transport procedures and digitalize transportation.
Mirziyoyev called in his speech for closer coordination. He floated the idea of building a unified cooperation space with regions that share historical, economic and transport ties, saying the region should seize the emerging opportunity to jointly develop trade, transport, energy, industry and new technologies.
He stressed that economic cooperation must reach a new level.
«We have already reached the point where ordinary trade with each other is not enough. We need to create the final product together. The formula 'six economies, one product' conveys well what we should strive for,» the Uzbek president said.
Among his initiatives are a Common Computing Infrastructure based on a network of national data centers and a Regional Atlas of In-Demand Professions.
Mirziyoyev noted the historic significance of completing the ratification procedure for the Treaty on Friendship, Good-Neighborliness and Cooperation for the Development of Central Asia in the 21st Century, and said the region needs a «flexible and clear format» without cumbersome structures.
Aliyev urged more active use of the joint investment funds created with Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, each capitalized at hundreds of millions of dollars. He said Azerbaijan's trade with Central Asian countries grew by more than 50% last year, and more than 400 companies with Central Asian capital operate in the country.
«We need not only to increase mutual trade, but also to invest, produce and enter external markets together,» Aliyev said.
He also focused on transport and energy connectivity. Transit traffic along the Middle Corridor rose by more than 10% last year and by almost 20% more in the first eight months of this year, he said. Azerbaijan transports oil from Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan and is working with Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan on a «green energy corridor.» He added that peace, security, and political and economic stability in the region underpin all successes and guarantee future development.
Summing up the meeting, Berdimuhamedov said the format creates conditions for accelerated economic and technological development.
«The proposals, ideas and initiatives voiced by the heads of state are very concrete, rely on a realistic assessment of our prospects and aim to make maximum use of our combined potential,» Berdimuhamedov said.
At the end of the summit, the leaders adopted a Joint Statement and signed a decision on a number of multilateral regulatory documents.
