Central Asian republics target $2 billion in bilateral trade

A flurry of recent activity in Central Asia and the Caspian Basin aimed at improving trade belies the notion that August is the holiday season.

At the end of August this year it was a period for state visits, with the leader of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, traveling to Uzbekistanand the President of Kazakhstan, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, visiting Tajikistan. The dominant theme of both trips was the strengthening of trade ties.

Following talks with Aliyev, Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev proclaimed 2025 the “Year of Economic Cooperation” between the two countries. “We discussed in detail the full range of our multifaceted relations, listened to reports on key areas,” Mirziyoyev said journalists from Tashkent. “First of all, it is about trade, industrial cooperation, energy, transport, agriculture, where we have very big opportunities.”

The two states have developed a 20-point economic cooperation plan, including plans to create textile production “clusters” and expand trans-Caspian connections to “maximize the potential of interregional ties,” Mirziyoyev added. Aliyev, meanwhile, said the two countries set out to “saturate our trade and economic relations with concrete content”.

The result of the visit provided an extra boost to an ambitious project involving Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan to develop solar and wind energy for export to Europe.

Tokaev was the same optimistic following meetings with Tajik leaders, including President Emomali Rahmon, noting that a goal of increasing annual bilateral trade turnover to $2 billion is achievable. Of the 15 agreements signed during the visit, perhaps the most significant was a memorandum of cooperation aimed at standardizing bilateral trade rules, inspections and other customs procedures. Such harmonization of practices is vital to facilitate the expansion of trade.

Following Tokayev’s visit, Kazakh and Tajik officials are discussing an agreement under which Kazakhstan would import Tajik-produced electricity, Ferghana News reports. reported August 29. Such an arrangement could give a boost to Kazakhstan’s participation in its “green power” consortium with Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan.

The action at the end of August is not limited to just a few states. The Kyrgyz government engaged Turkmen officials in talks on August 27 aimed at expanding the much-discussed the China-Kyrgyz-Uzbek railway project to Turkmenistan to create a terminal on the Caspian Sea. During the talks, Kyrgyz Economy Minister Daniyar Amangeldiyev stressed “the importance of cooperation in international freight transport,” according to a report distributed by the Ekonomist.kg store.

Elsewhere, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan plan to simplify cross-border travel for citizens of the two states. New procedures are being finalized that will allow entry with a national identity card, not a passport. The simplified Uzbek-Kazakh rules would mimic procedures already in place along the Uzbek-Kyrgyz border. “Today, the borders between Uzbekistan and the countries of Central Asia can rightly be called bridges of friendship and good neighborliness,” the Kursiv news bulletin said. quote Uzbek presidential aide Abdulaziz Kamilov said.

Of Eurasianet.org

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