Uzbekistan proposes deeper Central Asia–Azerbaijan cooperation through trade, transport, AI, investment and climate collaboration, calling for a unified macro-regional development space across Eurasia.
Following the admission of Azerbaijan to the format of Central Asian Consultative Meetings, Uzbekistan is seeking a new era of regional integration, as per the views expressed by President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, who called the admission a historic chance to upgrade cooperation to the new qualitative level of macro regional cooperation. Addressing the informal “Central Asia-Azerbaijan” Consultative Meeting in Cholpon-Ata, Kyrgyzstan, President Mirziyoyev called on the region to improve economic integration, technology cooperation, and development of Eurasia.
According to President Mirziyoyev, the extended consultative mechanism provides the right conditions for creating a unified development space connecting Central Asia, the South Caucasus, and adjacent Afghanistan. Closer cooperation among the involved states will contribute to sustainable economic development, increased connectivity, and good-neighbourly ties in one of the most strategically significant regions in the world.
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Drawing attention to the necessity of enhancing regional coordination efforts, Mirziyoyev called for increased cooperation through existing “Central Asia Plus” intergovernmental bodies. In his view, enhanced policy coordination would result in an improved position for the region at the international level, as well as provide a better forum for tackling common economic and geopolitical issues.
Economic integration was another key aspect that came out strongly in the speech of the President. There is need for increased focus on enhancing trade, transport and logistics linkages while fostering integrated value chains of industries and technologies within the region. The President suggested that there be set up a regional investment platform for financing infrastructure projects and foreign investments.
Another aspect on which the Uzbek president focused was the importance of digital transformation and innovation as key factors for competitiveness in the future. The president suggested making Central Asia a world leader in education, science and innovation, especially in areas such as artificial intelligence (AI), big data and digitalization. In order to accomplish this goal, he suggested establishing a complete regional ecosystem, which would combine talent, AI technologies, data centers and energy infrastructure.
Sustainability and climate resiliency have emerged as areas of great importance when it comes to cooperation among countries in the region. As Mirziyoyev pointed out, issues related to the climate, including heat, water shortages, and environmental destruction go beyond the national level and therefore need to be handled collectively at the regional level through the development of long-term strategies.
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The President also emphasized the significance of humanitarian cooperation, noting that closer relations among peoples, education exchanges, and cultural cooperation are important elements of regional integration. The expansion of cooperation in these spheres, according to him, will enhance mutual understanding and stability in the region.
The conference is indicative of the increasing trend towards regional cooperation between Central Asia and South Caucasus, and the inclusion of Azerbaijan will lead to increased connections from an economic, transport and diplomatic perspective. Through greater cooperation in the areas of trade, investments, innovations in technology, and climate change, the participating states seek to build a region that is better integrated and more competitive at the macro level.