Compounding of advantages and formation of a new mode of economic development

Economic growth and raising the standard of living for residents of the region have been recognized as the two main imperatives for cooperation among the Central Asian republics.

According to the president of Uzbekistan, "trade and economic cooperation is the main driver of regional partnership and integration," the president of Tajikistan has called for a "strategic breakthrough in the economic direction," involving the full potential of the region's states, and the president of Kazakhstan has proposed transforming Central Asia into a "space of new economic opportunities."

The leader of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhamedov and Preisdent of Kyrgyzstan Sadyr Zhaparov also stressed the importance of expanding trade and economic links, boosting bilateral trade turnover, and harnessing huge untapped potential.

Along with the promoting of intraregional trade, the presidents of Central Asian countries gave special attention to the expansion of regional industrial cooperation.

The President of Uzbekistan, in particular, proposed developing and adopting a Strategy for the Development of Industrial Cooperation, while the President of Kazakhstan initiated an Action Plan for the Development of Industrial Cooperation, and President Emomali Rahmon put forward developing separate programs of cooperation in the fields of agriculture, industry, and active introduction of new technologies.

The energy sector was another area where similar approaches were proposed. Thus, the President of Uzbekistan emphasized the need of guaranteeing energy security, which might pose a barrier to Central Asian nations' long-term sustainable growth.

In this respect, he underlined the need of collaboration in the development of energy infrastructure, energy source diversification, attracting investments and technology in the field of alternative energy, and the generation of "green" hydrogen.

Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan have stated their willingness to actively collaborate with Central Asian nations in the creation of "green energy" based on their hydropower resources.

In exchange, the leader of Turkmenistan indicated his country's determination to assist in meeting regional demand for energy resources, as well as to deliver natural gas and electricity to Central Asian countries and through their territory to overseas markets on mutually advantageous conditions.

President Serdar Berdimuhammedov suggested the creation of a new type of five-sided contact - the Energy Dialogue of Central Asian Countries - to make cooperation in this area more systematic and effective.

Traditionally, the leaders of Central Asian republics have focused their attention on expanding our countries transport and logistics capabilities and diversifying transportation corridors. At the same time, participants in the meeting approved the Five-Party Agreement on Strengthening Interconnectivity of Land Transport in Central Asia.

However, the heads of state did not limit themselves and proposed put forward a number of concrete initiatives. Thus, the President of Uzbekistan proposed developing an Agreement on Transport and Transit in Central Asia, forming specific mechanisms to promote efficient transport corridors to access the markets of China, South Asia, and the Middle East, the European Union with the application of business-friendly tariffs.

He also suggested preparing a Program of measures to liberalize the market of transport services, optimizing permitting procedures, and considering the creation of new integrated digital Platform of international transport.

In line with Uzbekistan's idea, Turkmen President Serdar Berdimuhamedov proposed considering the possibilities of establishing a Central Asian transport and logistics platform.

Without a doubt, all of these initiatives are crucially important for the states long-term development and attest to a shared desire to create a new way of economic development in the region based on the competitive advantages and complementarity of Central Asian economies, to form a capacious market in the region and integrate it into global value chains, and to transform Central Asia into an important link of interregional connectivity.

In this context, it seems to be in demand the President of Uzbekistan's idea to form a Central Asian Economic Council, which might become an efficient instrument for assuring collaboration and coordinating efforts to promote economic initiatives that fulfill common interests.

Akramjon Nematov,

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