Central Asia - a space of good-neighborliness and new opportunities

Today, Central Asia is emerging as a key hub for interregional connectivity as well as global industrial and logistical chains. According to President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev, “stability and unity are strengthening in Central Asia, it is turning into one of the important centers of economic growth and investment activity, and it is once again regaining its historical role as a transport hub connecting the West with the East and the North with the South.”

The leaders of other Central Asian countries agree with this assessment. Thus, Tajikistan's President Emomali Rahmon stated that “Central Asia is consistently and confidently transforming into an area of mutually beneficial cooperation, into a stable, economically developed, and, in the foreseeable future, very prosperous region, into one of the most important centers of the modern world and unique geographical nodes.”

In turn, the leader of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev notes that regional cooperation not only brings tangible mutual benefits, but also alters the entire structure of the Central Asian economy by opening up new opportunities for trade, investment, business, science, and innovation.

Yes, this is the case. The development indicators for the entire region, which display a pattern of consistent growth, serve as proof of this. Particularly between 2016 and 2022, the Central Asian region's international trade turnover increased to reach 225 billion.

Simultaneously, commerce among the region's states increased 2.5-fold, from 5.5 to 13.5 billion, and is expanding in both structure and nomenclature of commodities, which has a substantial stabilizing effect on prices in the local markets of Central Asian republics.

Stability and the emergence of a robust market in Central Asia are increasing interest in the region. In particular, over the same period, the share of investment in Central Asia of the global total has increased from 1.6% to 2.8%, rising to 40 billion in 2022, and overall by 45% since 2016 of the total accumulated investment of 250 billion. Moreover, mutual investment increased 6 times, almost doubled intra-regional tourism.

Interest in the region has increased as a result of stability and the development of a thriving market in Central Asia.

In example, over the same time period, Central Asia's portion of global investment climbed from 1.6% to 2.8%, reaching $40 billion in 2022 and growing overall by 45% since 2016 of the total accumulated investment of 250 billion. Additionally, mutual investment surged six times, and intraregional tourism nearly doubled. 

As a result, the region's total gross output is expanding gradually. At the end of 2022, it increased by 6% and reached around $400 billion, which is 40% higher than in 2016 and double the dynamics of the global economy. At the same time, growth projections for the coming year range from 5 to 6 percent.

Akramjon Nematov,

first deputy director of the Institute for Strategic and Regional Studies under the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan