The President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev participated 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.
The summit, chaired by the President of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhamedov, was also attended by the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, the President of the Kyrgyz Republic Sadyr Japarov, and the President of the Republic of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon.
In accordance with the agenda, the leaders exchanged views on pressing regional and international issues and discussed prospects for strengthening comprehensive cooperation between the countries of Central Asia and Azerbaijan.
In his address, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev noted the positive changes in Central Asia in recent years. He emphasized that the Consultative Meetings of the Heads of State of Central Asia have played a major role in this process.
He particularly highlighted the historic significance of completing the process of concluding the Treaty on Friendship, Good-Neighborliness and Cooperation for the Development of Central Asia in the 21st Century.
He emphasized that the countries of the region do not seek to create cumbersome structures.
“We need a flexible and transparent format in which strong, sovereign, and independent states cooperate based on mutual respect, trust, and pragmatism”, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev stated.
The Leader of Uzbekistan also gave a brief assessment of the challenging international environment in which the Central Asian countries are strengthening their cooperation.
“The world is changing rapidly, tensions are rising, trade and transport links are being reshaped, and new risks are emerging”, the President of Uzbekistan emphasized.
In this context, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev stressed the importance of even closer coordination of joint efforts in key areas of cooperation.
First and foremost, he proposed building a common space for cooperation with regions that have well-established historical, economic and transport ties. He emphasized the need to seize emerging opportunities to strengthen these ties and give them practical substance through joint development of trade, transport, energy, industry, and new technologies.
The President of Uzbekistan proposed discussing these issues in detail at the international conference “Interregional Dialogue for Peace and Sustainable Connectivity: A Central Asian Approach”, to be held in Tashkent next year.
He also emphasized the need to strengthen the foundation of regional dialogue by continuing work to enhance the legal framework governing the activities of the Consultative Meetings of the Heads of State of Central Asia.
President Shavkat Mirziyoyev stressed that economic cooperation must reach a new level.
“We have already set ambitious goals for increasing mutual trade and investment. Now it is necessary to determine what will drive this growth”, the President of Uzbekistan noted.
In this regard, he highlighted the importance of developing joint industrial and technological value chains, shared digital services, and investment mechanisms that will enable major projects to be launched more quickly.
“We have already reached a point where standard mutual trade is no longer sufficient. We need to create finished products together. The formula ‘six economies – one product’ perfectly captures the essence of what we should strive for”, the President stated.
To further develop this area, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev proposed holding a Central Asia – Azerbaijan Business Forum in Khiva in 2027 and establishing a special Platform for Financial and Technical Support of Joint Investment Projects.
The Leader of Uzbekistan noted the need for the Council of Ministers of Trade and Investment to thoroughly consider this issue at its next meeting in Ashgabat.
He further emphasized the importance of connecting the region’s countries through a modern transport and logistics network.
“We can become one of the key land routes for global trade and, at the same time, a major center of economic activity. But building roads and railways alone is not enough. We need a common approach to the development of transport infrastructure”, Shavkat Mirziyoyev noted.
The Leader of Uzbekistan drew attention to the need to coordinate major infrastructure projects so that they operate as a unified system.
“New transport corridors should be accompanied by production facilities, logistics and service centers, and industrial zones. In this way, a transport route creates an economy around itself and brings much greater benefits to every country through which it passes”, the Leader of Uzbekistan emphasized.
To this end, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev proposed accelerating the establishment of the Council for Infrastructure Development and holding its first meeting in Uzbekistan.
The President of Uzbekistan also highlighted the energy sector, noting the region’s diverse resources, ranging from hydrocarbons to significant potential for hydropower, solar and wind energy.
Given the important role of green development, he proposed preparing a Joint Concept for Low-Carbon Energy Potential. The document would help better coordinate the construction of new generating capacities, the development of modern energy storage systems, and the creation of new energy corridors.
The Leader of Uzbekistan identified water and climate change as another area requiring joint solutions. He emphasized the need to introduce modern digital monitoring systems, modernize irrigation networks, and widely adopt water-saving technologies.
He called for the full implementation of the common initiative on the Decade of Practical Action for the Rational Use of Water in Central Asia.
Considering Uzbekistan’s assumption of the chairmanship of the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea next year, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev outlined priorities for enhancing the Fund’s effectiveness, launching new environmental projects, and attracting additional funding.
President Shavkat Mirziyoyev emphasized the importance of establishing a permanent and substantive dialogue with Afghanistan on water resource use, taking into account the interests of all countries in the region.
He also highlighted air pollution as one of the serious problems facing cities across the region. In response, Uzbekistan earlier initiated the establishment of the International Consortium “Clean Air of Central Asia”. The President proposed launching its activities with a pilot program for the environmental modernization of industrial zones, agro-clusters and transport hubs across the region.
The Leader of Uzbekistan identified critical minerals as another rapidly growing area of importance. He proposed intensifying work on establishing the Regional Alliance on Critical Minerals, an initiative put forward by Uzbekistan, and, as a first step, developing a Unified Digital Map of Critical Mineral Reserves in Central Asia.
The next major area addressed was technological development.
“Artificial intelligence and big data are already transforming industry, transport, energy, agriculture, education and public administration. The productivity of our economies and their ability to compete in the future will largely depend on these technologies”, the President of Uzbekistan emphasized.
In this regard, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev proposed combining the region’s capabilities and beginning work on a Common Computing Infrastructure based on an interconnected network of national data centers.
The President of Uzbekistan identified people as the most important factor in the region’s future.
“Our countries possess significant demographic potential. The population is growing, there are more young people, and the quality of their education and vocational training will largely determine what the region’s economy will look like in ten, twenty or thirty years”, the Head of State emphasized.
Based on an analysis of the specialists the region’s economy will need in the future, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev proposed developing a Regional Atlas of In-Demand Professions and Skills. It would bring together forecasts for areas where there is already a shortage of specialists and where demand is expected to grow in the coming years.
On this basis, universities and vocational education institutions will be able to take into account the actual needs of the economy and train specialists in advance for specific major projects in industry, transport, energy, digital technologies and other sectors.
Concluding his address, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev noted that much has been achieved in recent years. He emphasized that it is now important to consolidate these achievements and make regional cooperation sustainable for decades to come.
“The formula is simple: solidarity and trust – for the sake of development and security. We are responsible for the kind of region we leave to future generations. It must be peaceful, safe, economically strong, and provide people with opportunities to live, work, study and raise their children with dignity”, the President of Uzbekistan stressed.
The leaders of the Central Asian states and Azerbaijan also addressed the summit. Following the meeting, the heads of state adopted a Joint Statement and signed a decision on several multilateral regulatory documents.
UzA