Speech by the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev at the seventh Consultative Meeting of the Heads of State of Central Asia

Dear heads of state!

Dear summit participants!

I sincerely welcome you to the seventh Consultative Meeting of the Heads of State of Central Asia.

Welcome to Uzbekistan!

Today is a truly historic day for our fraternal peoples. We are making a fundamental decision to join the format of the Consultative Meetings as a full participant.

This strategic step fully meets the interests of our peoples, firmly connected by a common history, family ties, spiritual and cultural affinity.

I am firmly convinced that the accession of fraternal Azerbaijan will give a powerful impetus to the Consultative Meetings, will open new horizons for expanding trade, economic, investment, cultural and humanitarian cooperation, as well as developing consolidated decisions on issues of sustainable development.

In essence, we will build a strong bridge between Central Asia and the South Caucasus, pave the way for the formation of a single space of cooperation, which will certainly strengthen the strategic interconnectedness and sustainability of both regions.

I would like to sincerely thank all my esteemed colleagues for making this important decision and congratulate Ilham Heydarovich on joining the format of the Consultative Meetings as a full participant.

We welcome the participation in this historic summit of Mr. Kakha Imnadze, Head of the UN Regional Center for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia.

I am confident that in such an inspired atmosphere today we will thoroughly exchange views and make fateful decisions on the further development of our cooperation.

Dear heads of delegations!

Dear friends!

In a short time Since our first meeting, we have come a very long, historically significant way.

Thanks to open dialogue and active joint efforts, we were able to find effective solutions to a number of pressing problems for our region.

Territorial issues were finally resolved, border checkpoints were opened, mutually beneficial cooperation in the water and energy sector was established sphere, transport links have been resumed, favorable conditions have been created for active trade, investment and humanitarian contacts between our countries.

Today Central Asia is an area of dynamic development and fruitful cooperation, opening up new opportunities for sustainable growth and prosperity.

The region is rapidly integrating into the world economy: its investment attractiveness is growing, export opportunities are expanding. to third markets, transit potential is increasing.

Last year, the volume of mutual trade between our countries reached $10.7 billion, the total volume of investments in Central Asia increased by 17 percent.

Our countries are taking systematic measures to ensure security and stability, countering the threats of terrorism and extremism, and cross-border crime.

Strengthening solidarity and the desire for universal development contribute to strengthening international subjectivity and increasing the role of Central Asia on a global scale.

Interaction in the “Central Asia Plus” formats has intensified. The region speaks with a unified position on authoritative international platforms.

Undoubtedly, with Azerbaijan joining our format, the voice of our region in the world community will become even more significant.

Dear colleagues!

During the chairmanship of Uzbekistan, more than 20 major events were held in order to further improve potential of our cooperation.

The Forum of Interregional Cooperation at the level of deputy prime ministers was launched, for the first time meetings of the heads of defense departments, heads of special services, as well as the ministers of geology, industry, agriculture, ecology and culture were held. We successfully held the Dialogue of Women Leaders of Central Asia in Tashkent.

All this clearly demonstrates the systematic build-up of institutional foundations and mechanisms of regional partnership.

I take this opportunity to express my gratitude to all of you for your support in the successful holding of the historically important 43rd session of the UNESCO General Conference, which was held for the first time in our region - in the city Samarkand.

Of course, this unique event is another confirmation of the image of Central Asia as a reliable and significant partner.

Dear colleagues!

Against the backdrop of complex and unpredictable international political processes, strengthening our cohesion and mutual support is of particular importance.

I am convinced that today we stand on the threshold of the historical revival of the region as a New Central Asia.

We have set ourselves the task of further strengthening the institutional foundations of our cooperation, developing a coordinated response to the challenges of security and sustainable development. It is already important for us to have a clear understanding of how we would like to see the region in 10-20 years.

In this regard, I would like to put forward a number of proposals.

Firstly, further improvement of the mechanisms and legal framework of our interaction is of fundamental importance.

Time itself requires transforming our meetings from a consultative form regional dialogue into the strategic format “Central Asian Community”.

On the way to this goal, we propose to develop a Regulation on Consultative Meetings, providing for the consistent strengthening of the institutional and organizational foundations of the format, establish a Secretariat operating on a rotational basis, and increase the status of national coordinators to Special Representatives of the Presidents.

In addition, based on our values and traditions of public diplomacy, we consider it appropriate to create a Council of Elders from among authoritative public figures with rich life experience. We believe that this will help strengthen connections between generations in our countries, as well as strengthen regional solidarity and identity.

Secondly, reaching a qualitatively new level of trade, economic and investment cooperation remains a priority.

The potential for mutual trade and the general foreign trade turnover of the countries of the region allows in the medium term to increase their volumes by at least 1.5-2 times.

I consider measures to eliminate administrative barriers, simplify tax and customs procedures, and joint use of free economic and industrial zones to be long overdue.

In our opinion, the development and adoption of a Comprehensive Regional Program for Trade and Economic Cooperation for the period until 2035, covering the above issues, will create favorable conditions for a significant increase in trade volumes.

We believe that in the near future it is especially important to adopt the Declaration on a Common Investment Area. This would strengthen the general principles of our investment policy, ensure comprehensive protection of the rights of investors, and create the preconditions for the formation of a unified investment climate in our vast region.

We believe it is important to use the potential and new opportunities in the field of electronic commerce. According to various estimates, its market in Central Asia alone could grow to $150 billion in the next decade.

In this regard, it is advisable to develop a Program of Joint Measures for the Development of Electronic Commerce, which will harmonize our approaches, facilitate the creation of virtual trading platforms and reliable digital payment systems.

Thirdly, the joint development of high-tech regional infrastructure and transport and logistics potential.

We propose to consolidate efforts to implement strategically significant regional projects for the construction and modernization of power plants, transmission lines, roads and railways, border checkpoints, “green corridors”, fiber optic lines and others.

In order to strengthen interregional transport connectivity, we give priority to projects such as the construction of a railway China – Kyrgyzstan – Uzbekistan, as well as the Trans-Afghan transport corridor.

Trans-Caspian routes connecting the region with European countries open up great opportunities for us.

To coordinate work in these areas, we consider it advisable to create a Council for Infrastructure Development at the level of deputy prime ministers of our countries.

Fourth, the prosperity and well-being of our region directly depend on our efforts to ensure regional security and stability.

I am confident that the Concept of Regional Security and Stability, as well as the Catalog of Risks and Threats adopted today, will significantly increase the effectiveness of our cooperation in this area.

The situation in Afghanistan deserves special attention, which directly affects the security and sustainable development of the entire region.

We firmly believe that the integration of Afghanistan into our infrastructure, energy and transport projects should become an integral part of the overall regional policy.

I would like to take this opportunity to express special gratitude for your support of the recently held Fergana Peace Forum. We advocate turning this expert platform, which promotes close communication and strengthening mutual trust in our region, into a regular International Forum.

Fifthly, the focus of our attention should remain on the issues of ecology, climate and water scarcity.

On the sidelines of the first Samarkand Climate Forum, the Concept of “green” development of Central Asia was presented. We count on your support in the adoption of this document.

Given the growing water shortage in the region and its negative consequences for sustainable development, we propose to declare 2026-2036 the Decade of Practical Actions for the Rational Use of Water in Central Asia.

We consider it important to actively involve neighboring Afghanistan in the regional dialogue on the joint use of water resources in the basin. Amu Darya.

Effective management of water resources is impossible without investment in the professional training of specialized personnel.

For these purposes, we intend to create a Regional Competence Center in the field of water management on the basis of the Tashkent Institute of Irrigation and Agricultural Mechanization Engineers.

As you know, next year we plan to hold our country World Forum on Water Conservation. We hope for your support and active participation.

Dear summit participants!

The expansion of cultural and humanitarian cooperation fully meets the common aspirations of our fraternal peoples.

Our region for thousands of years has been one of the centers of world civilization, the birth of great ideas, cultural and spiritual mutual enrichment.

Yesterday we visited the Center of Islamic Civilization together. This is a unique platform for generating scientific knowledge and ideas, conducting research, and popularizing our common cultural and historical heritage.

We hope that the Center will become a place of attraction for our youth, their scientific and spiritual education.

The day before, in Tashkent, we held the first International Congress on Issues of Spiritual Heritage and Education. I believe that such meetings should become regular. We propose to hold the Congress every year in the country presiding over our format.

In this context, we count on your support for Uzbekistan’s initiative to adopt a Special Resolution of the UN General Assembly dedicated to the contribution of prominent scientists and thinkers of our region to the development of global enlightenment.

We also advocate the creation of a Scientific Research Fund. This would make it possible to finance interstate scientific projects, stimulate and encourage the academic community, strengthen the intellectual potential of the region, as well as expand our ability to implement artificial intelligence technologies to solve the priority problems of the socio-economic development of our countries.

Dear friends!

The documents adopted today and the initiatives put forward embodies the common goal for all of us to build a sustainable, safe and prosperous Central Asia.

I would like to especially emphasize: our strength is in unity, our path to success is in friendship and cooperation.

Only by uniting, based on mutual respect, solidarity and strategic vision, we can achieve our noble goals.

Dear colleagues!

I would like to express my sincere gratitude for your speeches today in the spirit of openness and business cooperation, the constructive ideas put forward and specific action plans.

I take this opportunity to thank everyone for the kind words addressed to Uzbekistan and our people regarding the reforms being carried out in our country, as well as our chairmanship.

Of course, the implementation of all your proposals will make a worthy contribution to strengthening friendship, mutual trust and comprehensive cooperation in Central Asia.

Dear friends!

I take this opportunity to sincerely congratulate the President of Turkmenistan, respected Serdar Gurbangulyevich Berdimuhamedov, on accepting the chairmanship of the Consultative Meeting of Heads of State in 2026, which will already be held in the new format “Central Asia and Azerbaijan.”

We are ready to fully support the efforts of Turkmenistan during its upcoming chairmanship and wish great success along this path.