President of Uzbekistan outlines priority areas for CIS cooperation

President Shavkat Mirziyoyev participated in the regular meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Commonwealth of Independent States, held in Turkmenistan’s Avaza National Tourist Zone on 9 October.

The summit, chaired by President of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhamedov, was attended by President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, President of the Republic of Belarus Aleksandr Lukashenko, President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, President of the Kyrgyz Republic Sadyr Japarov, President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin, President of the Republic of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon, Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan, and CIS Secretary General Sergey Lebedev.

The agenda included an exchange of views on key issues related to further expanding multilateral cooperation.

In his address, the President Shavkat Mirziyoyev congratulated the participants on the 35th anniversary of the Commonwealth and noted that despite ongoing changes, the close human relations, their shared history and enormous potential for cooperation remain unchanged.

“Today the world is undergoing a serious transformation. Tensions are rising, traditional economic ties are being reconfigured. In such a situation, it is especially important to strengthen trust, to compare positions more often, and to ensure that our agreements deliver real results,” the President said.

He emphasized that economic integration and industrial cooperation remain among the key foundations for stability and development.

To elevate trade and investment partnership to a new level, the importance of utilizing the region’s combined potential and gradually moving from simple trade exchanges to the joint creation of full-fledged value chains was highlighted.

The Head of State then outlined a number of priority areas for joint efforts.

First, the importance of ensuring the effective functioning of the Free Trade Area through the removal of technical barriers, mutual recognition of conformity certificates and broader access to public procurement markets was highlighted.

Within the framework of strengthening economic resilience and improving people’s well-being, particular attention was paid to food security.

In this regard, the President emphasized the importance of promptly agreeing on and adopting the Agreement on Expanding Mutual Access to Public Procurement of Agricultural Products and the Cooperation Program on Food Security. To improve market predictability, he proposed to introduce an early notification and consultation mechanism before restrictions are imposed on exports of food products and fertilisers.

Particular emphasis was also placed on combining industrial capacities and expanding mutual investment. To support strong business interest in joint projects, the importance of promptly adopting a roadmap to support the activities of special economic zones was noted.

Addressing transport connectivity, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev advocated the establishment of integrated logistics centres, a substantial reduction in transit costs, harmonisation of freight transport regulations and the development of a unified transport information system across the CIS. He also expressed support for Turkmenistan's initiative to declare 2029 the Year of Transport Connectivity of the Commonwealth.

On energy security, the importance of developing a long-term forecast for the coming decades was highlighted.

“It should give a clear understanding of where and when seasonal energy surpluses and shortages arise, which networks need to be developed, and how to most effectively combine hydropower, thermal generation and renewable sources,” the President said.

In this context, the President of Uzbekistan also addressed the challenges posed by climate change.

“Coordinated and practical solutions are needed here. We advocate the accelerated introduction of low-carbon technologies and the development of closed-loop production,” the President continued.

In this context, it was proposed to develop a CIS Cooperation Concept on Resource Efficiency and the Circular Economy.

Cultural and humanitarian ties were identified as a solid foundation for mutual understanding and trust among the peoples and countries of the Commonwealth.

To further develop this area of cooperation, the existing opportunities for expanding the activities of the Interstate Fund for Humanitarian Cooperation were noted.

Special attention was also proposed for the creative industries, which are rapidly evolving under the influence of new technologies and are becoming an increasingly important part of the modern economy.

In this regard, an initiative was put forward to organise a forum on “Cultural Policy and Creative Industries”.

Among contemporary challenges, particular attention was drawn to the rapidly growing problem of cybercrime worldwide.

“Fraud by using information technologies is already causing serious damage to citizens and businesses and creates risks for the stable operation of the financial systems of our countries,” the President noted.

In this regard, he proposed to task the Council of Ministers of Internal Affairs with developing a comprehensive set of measures for the establishment of a Joint CIS Contact Centre to facilitate rapid responses to cross-border cybercrime and fraudulent schemes.

Concluding his address, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev expressed Uzbekistan’s readiness to assume the CIS Chairmanship next year and reaffirmed the country’s commitment to close cooperation. The President also thanked President Serdar Berdimuhamedov for the warm hospitality and the excellent organisation of the summit.

The heads of other CIS delegations also addressed the meeting.