President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev paid a working visit to Astana on 12-14 October at the invitation of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.
During the visit the Uzbek leader attended the 6th Summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA), meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Commonwealth of Independent States and Central Asia – Russia Summit. President of Uzbekistan also had bilateral meetings with the President of the Republic of Türkiye, Prime Minister of Pakistan, Vice President of Vietnam, President of Tajikistan and the Secretary General of the Organization of Turkic States.
On October 13, the Uzbek President addressed the Summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia, put forward important initiatives on cooperation in trade and economy, transport and logistics, ecology, security, as well as on the Afghan issue.
The Summit of CICA was also attended by the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran Ebrahim Raisi, the President of the Kyrgyz Republic Sadyr Zhaparov, the Prime Minister of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan Shahbaz Shareef, the President of the State of Palestine Mahmoud Abbas, Amir of the State of Qatar Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin, the President of the Republic of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon, the President of the Republic of Türkiye Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the President of the Republic of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko, the Vice President of the People’s Republic of China Wang Qishan, and the Vice President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam Vo Thi Anh Xuan.
The Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia is an international forum aimed at enhancing cooperation in security and stability, intensifying trade and economic partnership, and interaction in environmental issues. This year, the forum celebrates the 30th anniversary of its establishment. Presently CICA has 28 Member States. Another 9 countries and 5 international organizations have the status of observers. The supreme body of the CICA is the Summit of Heads of State and Government. Since 2020, Kazakhstan has been chairing the CICA.
President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev, in his speech at the Astana Summit, assessed the current international situation, which is developing against the backdrop of an unprecedented lack of dialogue and trust, and growing uncertainty in international relations.
As the Uzbek President noted, “new geopolitical realities have a negative impact on the stability of the entire Asian region. Crisis phenomena directly affect the Central Asian states and hinder our efforts to deepen economic integration”.
In this regard, he noted the need for paying special attention to the situation in Afghanistan, which, against the background of other acute international problems, began to fade into the background.
Shavkat Mirziyoyev called for the development of common, coordinated approaches to interaction with the interim government of Afghanistan. He proposed to consider the possibility of a joint appeal by Asian countries to the United Nations General Assembly with the initiative to form a high-level international negotiating group to prepare and agree with the Afghan authorities on an algorithm for the phased fulfillment of the obligations of the parties.
A dangerous challenge for general security is the wide expansion of radical ideas, attempts to actively involve young people in extremist organizations.
In this regard, the demand for systemic cooperation was noted. “Young people should believe in themselves, feel involvement in shaping a just future, be able to realize their potential and hopes”, the Leader of Uzbekistan said.
As a co-chair of the Youth Council of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia, Uzbekistan proposed to launch a new format – the Dialogue of Generations, designed to promote better mutual understanding between people of different ages, a joint search for solutions to the most pressing problems of youth.
The President of the Republic of Uzbekistan put forward several initiatives to adapt the economies of Asian countries to the growing negative consequences of the global crisis:
– prevent the strengthening of protectionism, as well as the introduction of new restrictions that destabilize global markets;
– strengthen connectivity in the Asian region, primarily through the creation of production and logistics chains and transport corridors that effectively connect Central Asia with South and East Asia, as well as the Middle East;
– promote the knowledge economy as the basis for the transition to a new stage of the global industrial revolution.
– more fully use the potential of innovation transfer, actively stimulate digitalization, the development of cloud technologies, artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things.
Shavkat Mirziyoyev proposed new approaches to overcome problems in food security. This is the formation of sustainable food production schemes and optimal food delivery chains, the harmonization of technical regulations for the growth of intra-regional trade, the creation of an integrated system for monitoring food security in Asia.
These issues will be discussed at the International Conference under the auspices of FAO to be held in Uzbekistan in 2023.
To solve the problems of ecology and climate change, it was proposed to join forces and launch regular expert consultations within the framework of the Green Asia conceptual program on the intensive greening of our countries and support for vulnerable ecosystems.
Summing up, the President of Uzbekistan expressed confidence that it is possible to effectively overcome modern challenges only through dialogue, taking into account the interests of each other and observing the universally recognized norms of international law.
That is why the main goal of the Samarkand Solidarity Initiative for Common Security and Prosperity, put forward by him, is to involve in a constructive dialogue all those who care about the future of mankind, who strive for peace, harmony and common prosperity.
On 14th October the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan took part in the meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Commonwealth of Independent States.
By the agenda, the heads of delegations exchanged views on the course of multilateral cooperation within the CIS and considered issues of further enhancing interaction in the political, trade, economic, cultural and humanitarian spheres.
In his speech, the President of Uzbekistan presented a vision of key areas for strengthening partnerships within the CIS.
It was noted that the emerging difficult situation in the world, the growing tension and strategic uncertainty necessitate the need for uniting efforts to ensure sustainable development and maximize the effective use of the CIS platform.
The importance of ensuring sustainable economic growth in the CIS countries was emphasized.
It was noted with satisfaction that, despite the challenges, it is possible to ensure positive dynamics in all areas of partnership within the CIS. Thus, the trade turnover of Uzbekistan with the states of the Organization increased by 35 percent last year, and since the beginning of this year, it has grown by another third.
Cooperation projects are being successfully implemented in mechanical engineering, energy, chemical, pharmaceutical, textile and other industries. In recent months alone, more than 800 new enterprises have been launched with partners from the CIS countries.
Cultural ties are developing intensively. Festivals, concerts, fairs, sports and other events are held regularly.
At the same time, the need was noted for taking effective measures to remove barriers in mutual trade as soon as possible.
The President of Uzbekistan noted the importance of creating favorable conditions for unhindered food supplies in the CIS to prevent artificial price increases and curb inflation.
Taking into account the serious challenges for the transport systems of our countries, it is important to jointly develop new logistics corridors. We are talking about the projects for the construction of railways Termez – Mazar-i-Sharif – Kabul – Peshawar, as well as China – Kyrgyzstan – Uzbekistan, which will contribute to the transformation of the CIS into a key link in transcontinental transport.
To enhance innovative interaction and youth cooperation, the President of Uzbekistan proposed to hold the first Congress of young scientists of the CIS countries next year in Uzbekistan under the motto “Youth for Innovation”.
Readiness was expressed to continue to actively promote the implementation and participate in joint projects and programs in education, science, healthcare, sports, culture and art.
The decision to declare the city of Saint Petersburg as the cultural capital of the CIS in 2023 was supported. Samarkand has been nominated as the cultural capital of the Commonwealth in 2024.
The President of Uzbekistan initiated the annual conduction of an open Commonwealth Chess Cup.
At the meeting, the leaders also exchanged views on further strengthening interaction in the implementation of the agreements reached and the promotion of important cooperation projects within the Organization. The significant role of the CIS Interparliamentary Assembly in monitoring the implementation of the decisions of the Council of Heads of State of the Commonwealth was emphasized.
Following the summit, several important documents were adopted in various areas of multilateral cooperation.
On the same day the Leader of Uzbekistan attended the Central Asia – Russia Summit, in Astana along with the presidents of Russian Federation, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan.
The leaders of Central Asia and Russia exchanged views on the current issues of interaction in the “Central Asia – Russia” format, as well as on the regional and international agenda.
The President of Uzbekistan put forward initiatives designed to bring the partnership to a higher level in trade, economic, transport and communication, energy, cultural and humanitarian spheres, as well as in environmental protection to strengthen regional cooperation.
