Speech by the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev at the Economic Cooperation Organization summit

Dear heads of delegations!

I am very glad to meet you on the ancient land of Karabakh, in the beautiful city of Khankendi, which embodies unique historical and cultural heritage.

We, as true brother nations, sincerely rejoice that today this region in the full sense of the word is turning into a space of creation and peace.

I express my deep gratitude to His Excellency the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, respected Ilham Aliyev, for the warm welcome on this land and for holding the Economic Cooperation Organization summit at a high level.

Following the results of our historic summit in Tashkent, significant successes were achieved in strengthening the institutional potential of the Organization and establishing cooperation in new directions.

I would like to take this opportunity to especially note the fruitful chairmanship of the Organization of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

We are also glad that after a long break in our The forum is attended by a delegation from the interim government of Afghanistan. We consider neighboring Afghanistan as an integral part of the region of our Organization, an important participant in the processes of large-scale economic cooperation and transport interconnectivity and fully support it.

Dear participants of the meeting!

Today's summit is taking place in difficult conditions, when the entire world community is experiencing an acute crisis.

Especially that most conflicts and the contradictions occurring precisely in the region of our Organization is a clear confirmation of this. The events of recent months in South Asia and the Middle East are of grave concern to all of us.

The crisis of international law and global security institutions further weakens dialogue and cooperation, opening the door to the use of force. Military actions against the Islamic Republic of Iran, which is a member of our Organization, created the threat of involving the entire region in the abyss of war and creating a source of large-scale environmental disaster.

We support the ceasefire agreement reached between Iran and Israel, and regard this decision as an important step towards easing tensions in the region and restoring security. I am confident that it will create a solid basis for resolving all problems through diplomacy and constructive negotiations.

Taking into account that non-proliferation and curbing the use of weapons of mass destruction is the most pressing issue of international security, we once again call on the world community to expand the geography of nuclear weapon-free zones.

It should be emphasized that achieving peace and stability in the Middle East is impossible without a fair resolution Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

We stand for a cessation of hostilities in the Gaza Strip, the removal of obstacles to humanitarian assistance to the population suffering from hunger and inhumane conditions, and the creation of an independent State of Palestine in accordance with United Nations resolutions.

Dear summit participants!

The basis of peace and development is, above all, economic cooperation. Therefore, partnership within the framework of our Organization today is not only natural, but also of great strategic importance.

According to the agenda of our meeting, I would like to draw your attention to a number of issues.

First of all, it is necessary to determine the priority directions for the development of our Organization for the medium and long term. In this regard, we need to adopt the concept of “Strategic Goals of Economic Partnership - 2035”. In addition to traditional areas such as trade, investment, transport, energy, industry, agriculture, ecology, tourism and education, the document should pay special attention to strengthening cooperation in the areas of innovation, artificial intelligence and digital technologies.

For our Organization, the issues of simplifying trade in goods and services, the gradual elimination of technical and non-tariff barriers, and the development of e-commerce are especially relevant.

Please note Attention: at present, mutual trade between our countries remains at a low level. In 2024, its figure amounted to $95 billion, or 10 percent of the total foreign trade turnover of our states.

In order to discuss strategic issues in this direction and agree on an Agreement on Trade Facilitation, we propose to hold a meeting of trade ministers in Tashkent this year.

In addition, it is important to create a system of “green corridors” for prompt exchange of information on trade in agricultural products and their unimpeded supply.

In order to take our investment cooperation to a new level, to create a more transparent and attractive investment environment, we are taking the initiative to adopt the long-term Ecoinvest program. We believe that the main goal of the program should be the widespread involvement of private investors, banks and international financial institutions in promising projects in our region.

Another priority area. Recent geopolitical events have once again shown how high the risk of disruption of international supply chains is, as well as the strategic importance of the formation of alternative transport corridors.

An important event was the launch last year of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway project. In the future, this backbone network will be linked to the Trans-Afghan corridor, which will effectively connect transit networks in our vast region.

We believe that the time has come to begin the practical implementation of the initiative to create a Digital Transport and Customs Department in order to systematically establish work on the digitalization of the transport and logistics sector, and we advocate intensifying negotiations at the expert level.

Our current tasks are the opening of new air routes in the region, the introduction of innovative formats of cooperation between airlines, and the development of integrated marketing strategies between the fields of tourism and aviation. To discuss these issues, we propose to hold a forum of national airlines in Samarkand.

In the field of tourism, we have sufficient potential to double the flow of tourists in the future. The development of a roadmap for expanding tourism services within the Organization will serve to achieve this noble goal.

I would like to draw your attention to one more issue.

It is important to unite the aspirations and efforts of our states on the global climate agenda. We strongly support the full implementation of the commitments and agreements reached at the successful COP-29 global climate summit in Baku.

We propose within the Organization to develop a transboundary “green program” for the creation of forests and recreational areas in desert areas.

Dear heads of delegations!

We positively assess the work of the High-Level Committee aimed at improving the activities of our Organization. I think you will support my proposal to instruct the Committee to develop specific proposals and recommendations for reforming the activities of the Organization before the next summit.

The reforms will serve to develop our cooperation at a new level, further strengthen the authority of the Organization in the international arena, and improve its activities in accordance with the current requirements of the time.

I am confident that today's summit will give a worthy impetus to the implementation of our great intentions and plans and will open a new stage in our multifaceted practical cooperation.

Thank you for your attention.

Official website of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan