The Tashkent Declaration on the Outcomes of the First Trilateral Meeting of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Trade/Economy and Transport of the Republic of Uzbekistan, the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Türkiye
On August 2, 2022, upon the invitation of the Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Uzbekistan H.E. Mr. Vladimir Norov, the First Deputy Minister of Investments and Foreign Trade of the Republic of Uzbekistan H.E. Mr. Laziz Kudratov and the Minister of Transport of the Republic of Uzbekistan H.E. Mr. Ilkhom Makhkamov, as well as with the participation of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan H.E. Mr. Jeyhun Bayramov, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Türkiye H.E. Mr. Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, the Minister of Economy of the Republic of Azerbaijan H.E. Mr. Mikayil Jabbarov, the Minister of Trade of the Republic of Türkiye H.E. Mr. Mehmet Muş, the Minister of Digital Development and Transport of the Republic of Azerbaijan H.E. Mr. Rashad Nabiyev, the Minister of Transport and Infrastructure of the Republic of Türkiye H.E. Mr. Adil Karaismailoğlu held the First Trilateral Meeting of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Trade/Economy and Transport in Tashkent.
Ministers (hereinafter referred to as the “Parties”):
Emphasizing the strong strategic partnership that exists among the three countries based on the principles of mutual respect, trust and common interests;
Reaffirming the firm and unequivocal support of their Statesto each other’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and inviolability of internationally recognized borders;
Remaining committed to the purposes of the Charter of the United Nations, the universally recognized principles and norms of international law;
Realizing the growing importance of developing and promoting joint projects in the areas of trade, investment, industry, transport and communications;
Emphasizing the importance of “Trans-Caspian East West Middle Corridor” (hereinafter the Middle Corridor) - the multimodal transport route passing, inter alias, through the territories of Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan and Türkiye – in enhancing transit potential of their States;
Noting the importance of further strengthening cooperation among the three countries to develop international transport corridors with a view of making the best use of the high transit potential of Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan and Türkiye, including within the framework of TRACECA;
Emphasizing the importance of further strengthening connectivity, including through the development of transport links, information and communication infrastructures;
Recognizing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on transport and transit operations across the territories of the three States, and emphasizing the need to intensify joint post-pandemic recovery efforts;
Appreciating the current format of trilateral cooperation among Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan and Türkiye aimed at further strengthening mutually beneficial relations;
declared the following:
1) The Parties express their firm determination to strengthen and develop interaction on regional and international issues of mutual interest;
2) The Parties reiterate their full respect of each other’s territorial integrity within their internationally recognized borders and express support in accordance with international law for each other’s efforts against actions that threatens the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the States of Parties;
3) The Parties emphasize that peace and stability in Afghanistan is an essential factor in ensuring security in Central Asia region and also stress the importance of the continuation of the efforts of the international community aimed at provision of unhindered humanitarian assistance as well as promoting and encouraging an inclusive governance and dialogue among Afghan stakeholders;
4) The Parties express their firm determination to continue their joint efforts to realize the full potential of cooperation in the field of economy, trade, investment and transport, including all the types of transport and transit communications;
5) The Parties express their readiness to further encourage investment in the areas of mutual interest, as well as to maintain the direct contacts in this direction through the business circles, chambers of commerce and industry, as well as the industry and business associations of the three States, including by exploring the export-import opportunities and finding the new forms of promoting economic cooperation;
6) The Parties will make efforts to deepen a practical cooperation in the spheres of industry, software, information and communication technologies and digital trade;
7) The Parties attach special importance to cooperation in the fields of food security, agriculture and food processing, and will continue efforts to cooperate in order to address common concerns in the mentioned fields;
8) The Parties expressed their interest to expand their economic cooperation in all directions, as well as they agreed to examine opportunities for cooperation in energy, in particular in renewables;
9) The Parties emphasize the importance of contributing to Azerbaijan’s post-conflict rehabilitation, reconstruction and reintegration efforts by investing in Karabakh and Eastern Zangazur regions of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Azerbaijani Side highly appreciates the participation of the companies of Türkiye and Uzbekistan in infrastructure projects on restoration and reconstruction of liberated territories of Azerbaijan;
10) The Parties emphasize the need for efficient, uninterrupted and unhindered transportation, to enhance trade and economic ties among their States and consider it necessary to further deepen the cooperation through the following joint efforts:
- development of necessary transport and logistics infrastructure;
- simplification of operations, including through digitalization of transport, customs and border crossing procedures and due application of eTIR, ePermit, eCMR tools, eCIM and eCIM/SMGS, as well as standards developed by UN/CEFACT for multimodal transport;
- enhancing coordination to shape common positions within regional cooperation organizations to promote the transport routes passing through the territories of the their States, including the Middle Corridor, in regional and multilateral fora where competing transport corridors exist;
- attracting additional freight from the sea ports on China-Europe route to the Middle Corridor by using the railway potential over Baku-Tbilisi-Kars Line;
providing the transport operators of the States of the Parties with the favorable conditions for port services and transportation;
- commercialization of the Middle Corridor including through enhanced participation of private owned transport operators in order to maximize the benefits from the effective use of this corridor’s capacities;
11) The Parties underline the importance of the opening of the Zangazur corridor connecting the Eastern Zangazur and the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic of the Republic of Azerbaijan for the expansion of international transport links;
12) The Parties emphasize the importance of Uzbekistan’s initiative on construction of the strategic railway line “Termez – Mazar-i-Sharif – Kabul - Peshawar” and express support to the “Uzbekistan-Kyrgyzstan-China” railway construction project;
13) The Parties acknowledge the active role of private sector in using the infrastructure opportunities and industrial advantages of Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan and Türkiye, including transport and logistics centers, sea and dry ports, shipyards, economic zones, research and innovation centers, technoparks;
14) The Parties emphasize their readiness to continue cooperation on the issues of mutual interest in the framework of international organizations of which the Republic of Uzbekistan, the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Türkiye are the members, including in the framework of the United Nations and its specialized agencies, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, the Organization of Turkic States, the Economic Cooperation Organization, the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia;
The Parties expressed deep gratitude to the Uzbek Side for the successful organization of the meeting.
It was decided to hold the Second Trilateral Meeting at a mutually agreed date in the Republic of Türkiye.
Signed in the city of Tashkent on August 2, 2022 in three original copies, each in English.
