Address by the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev at the eighth Consultative Meeting of the Heads of State of Central Asia and Azerbaijan

Address by the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev at the Eighth Consultative Meeting of the Heads of State of Central Asia and Azerbaijan

Honorable Serdar Gurbangulyyevich!

Distinguished colleagues!

I join in the words of gratitude addressed to the President of Turkmenistan, the esteemed Serdar Gurbangulyyevich Berdimuhamedov, for the warm welcome and excellent organization of our meeting.

We have gathered once again on the Caspian coast, in Avaza.

And today's meeting is of particular significance, as it is taking place for the first time together with brotherly Azerbaijan.

I would like to specifically note the chairmanship of Turkmenistan.

Over this year, we have managed to make noticeable progress in regional cooperation and reach concrete agreements on many important issues.

I express my special gratitude to the National Leader of the Turkmen people, the esteemed Gurbanguly Myalikgulyyevich Berdimuhamedov, who for many years has made an immense personal contribution to strengthening friendship and good-neighborliness between our countries.

Distinguished heads of delegations!

In recent years, Central Asia has changed significantly. The very atmosphere of relations between our countries has also changed.

We have begun to meet more often, discuss issues openly, find solutions, and support one another.

Our Consultative Meetings have played a major role in this.

In creating this format, we proceeded from a simple understanding: the prosperity and security of Central Asia directly depend on trust between our states.

The completion of the procedure for concluding the Treaty on Friendship, Good-Neighborliness, and Cooperation for the Development of Central Asia in the 21st Century was a historic event.

At the same time, we do not seek to create cumbersome structures.

We need a flexible and clear format in which strong, sovereign, and independent states cooperate on the basis of mutual respect, trust, and pragmatism.

It is precisely this approach that has already yielded results.

The region is represented much more confidently and visibly on the international stage.

This is also evidenced by the growing interest in the "Central Asia Plus" formats, as well as the constant expansion of the circle of our external partners.

Distinguished colleagues!

Our rapprochement is taking place in a challenging time.

The world is changing rapidly, tensions are rising, trade and transport links are being restructured, and new risks are emerging.

In such a situation, it is particularly important to coordinate our actions even more closely.

I would like to outline several areas that we consider especially important for further joint work.

First.

We need to define the next stage of cooperation between Central Asia and neighboring regions.

In essence, we can build a single space of cooperation with established historical, economic, and transport links.

Today, an opportunity arises to make them significantly stronger and fill them with concrete content.

We are talking about a vast space where our countries can jointly develop trade, transport, energy, industry, and new technologies.

We propose to discuss these issues in detail at the international conference "Interregional Dialogue for Peace and Sustainable Connectivity: The Central Asian Approach," which we will host next year in Tashkent.

Second.

We need to strengthen the foundation on which our regional dialogue is built.

We propose to continue working on improving the regulatory and legal framework governing the activities of the Consultative Meetings of the Heads of State of Central Asia.

At the same time, the number of documents alone does not solve anything.

It is much more important that the decisions already adopted are implemented and bring the results for which we adopt them.

Third.

Economic cooperation must reach a new level.

We have already set serious goals for the growth of mutual trade and investment. Now it is necessary to determine how this growth will be ensured.

First and foremost, this concerns joint industrial and technological chains, common digital services, and investment mechanisms that will allow for the faster launch of major projects.

An important role here is assigned to the Comprehensive Regional Program for Trade and Economic Cooperation until 2035. It should become a working tool that will help us leverage the main advantage of the region — our shared geography.

To achieve this, it is necessary to consistently eliminate trade barriers, expand industrial cooperation, and launch more joint projects. We have already reached the point where ordinary mutual trade is not enough. We need to create the final product together.

The concise formula "six economies – one product" well conveys the essence of what we should strive for.

When enterprises from several countries participate in a single production chain, when products are created together, entirely different links arise between our economies. They are much stronger than the simple exchange of goods.

To develop this area, we propose to hold the Business Forum of Central Asia and Azerbaijan in ancient Khiva in 2027.

At the same time, I consider it important to establish a special Platform for Financial and Technical Support of Joint Investment Projects.

Large-scale ideas require not only investment but also serious preparation, expertise, clear financial instruments, and support.

I propose to instruct the Council of Ministers of Trade and Investment to consider this issue in detail at its next meeting in Ashgabat.

Fourth.

We need to connect our countries with a modern transport and logistics network.

We can become one of the key land routes of global trade and, at the same time, a major hub of economic activity. But for this, it is not enough merely to build roads and railways.

We need a common logic for the development of transport infrastructure.

Major projects must be coordinated with one another so that routes continue each other and function as a single system.

Along the new transport corridors, production facilities, logistics and service sites, and industrial zones must emerge.

Then, a transport route creates an economy around itself and brings a much greater effect to each state through which it passes.

To ensure coordination, we propose to accelerate the creation of the Infrastructure Development Council. We are ready to host the first meeting of the Council in Uzbekistan.

Energy occupies a special place on the common agenda.

Our region possesses diverse resources. There are significant hydrocarbon reserves and great potential for hydropower, solar, and wind generation.

It is precisely this diversity that allows our countries to complement one another.

It is necessary to use it wisely and view the development of the region's energy sector comprehensively.

"Green" energy will play an increasingly important role here.

We propose to prepare a Joint Concept for Low-Carbon Energy Potential. It will allow for better coordination of the construction of new generating capacities, the development of modern energy storage systems, and the creation of new energy corridors.

Another area requiring joint solutions is water and climate change.

Water scarcity is becoming an increasingly serious constraint on the development of Central Asia. The climate is changing, the population is growing, and the pressure on agriculture and infrastructure is increasing.

Therefore, we need to understand more precisely how much water we have and how it is used.

We need modern digital monitoring systems, the modernization of irrigation networks, and the widespread introduction of water-saving technologies.

Large water losses today cost our region too much.

That is why it is important to fully implement our joint initiative on the Decade of Practical Action for Rational Water Use in Central Asia.

Starting next year, Uzbekistan assumes the chairmanship of the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea.

We view this mission as a great responsibility.

During our chairmanship, we intend to make the Fund's work more effective, launch new environmental projects, and attract additional funding.

Special attention must be paid to the dialogue with Afghanistan on the use of water resources. This conversation must be continuous and substantive, with mandatory consideration of the interests of all countries in the region.

Air pollution is becoming one of the most visible problems in our cities.

Recently, Uzbekistan proposed the creation of the International Consortium "Clean Air of Central Asia." Its activities could begin with a concrete joint project: a pilot Program for the Ecological Modernization of Industrial Zones, Agro-clusters, and Transport Hubs of our countries. This will allow us to move from discussing the problem to practical work where the environmental burden is particularly high.

Another topic of rapidly growing importance is critical minerals.

Our countries possess significant reserves of raw materials necessary for modern industry, energy, and new technologies.

Here, it is important for us to act together.

We propose to intensify the creation of the Regional Alliance on Critical Minerals, initiated by Uzbekistan.

One of the first steps could be a Unified Digital Map of Critical Mineral Reserves of Central Asia.

Such a resource will provide a more complete picture of the region's potential and show international investors that our countries are ready to develop this area together.

The next major block of issues is related to technological development.

Artificial intelligence and big data are already transforming industry, transport, energy, agriculture, education, and public administration.

The productivity of our economies and their ability to compete in the future will largely depend on these technologies.

At the same time, digital projects often allow for results to be achieved faster than large-scale infrastructure construction.

Therefore, we propose to combine the capabilities of our countries and begin the creation of a Common Computing Infrastructure. Its foundation could be an interconnected network of national data centers. This will allow for more efficient use of computing power, the development of our own digital products, and the creation of conditions for major projects in the field of artificial intelligence.

But infrastructure alone is not enough. We need specialists, scientific research, and strong technology companies.

Therefore, we propose to launch joint programs for training sectoral personnel, support scientific projects, and create more opportunities for technological entrepreneurship.

And finally, one of the most important issues for the future of our region is people.

Our countries possess great demographic potential.

The population is growing, there are more young people, and it is on the quality of their education and professional training that the region's economy in ten, twenty, thirty years will largely depend.

Therefore, education and youth support must occupy a special place in our cooperation.

It is necessary to have a good understanding of what specialists our economies will need tomorrow.

To this end, we propose to develop a Regional Atlas of In-Demand Professions and Competencies.

It can combine our countries' forecasts in those areas where a shortage of specialists is already felt today and where demand will grow in the coming years. This will allow universities and vocational schools to take the real needs of the economy into account in advance.

In the future, we will be able to train personnel for specific major projects implemented in several countries of the region at once.

In this way, education will be directly linked to the development of industry, transport, energy, digital technologies, and other sectors.

Distinguished heads of state!

In recent years, we have managed to achieve a great deal. Now it is important to consolidate these changes and make our cooperation sustainable for decades to come.

The formula is simple: solidarity and trust — for the sake of development and security.

We are responsible for the kind of region we leave to future generations. It must be peaceful, secure, economically strong, and provide people with opportunities to live, work, study, and raise children with dignity.

We congratulate Azerbaijan on assuming the chairmanship of the Consultative Meeting.

We are convinced that under the leadership of the Azerbaijani side, the work within our format will receive additional impetus, and brotherly cooperation will contribute to strengthening unity, trust, and solidarity.

In conclusion, I would like to once again sincerely thank the esteemed Serdar Gurbangulyyevich Berdimuhamedov for the warm welcome and high organization of our meeting on hospitable Turkmen soil.

Thank you for your attention.