Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- One of the significant events of the summit held in Samarkand was the unanimous political support expressed for the first time at the highest level for the construction of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway by the leaders of Uzbekistan, China and Kyrgyzstan.

It should be noted that earlier on the sidelines of the forum, an Agreement on Cooperation on the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway construction project was signed, which for the first time provides for specific measures for the implementation of this project.

The last document regulating the construction of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway was the Memorandum of Understanding on the construction of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway of 1997.

Speaking at the Samarkand SCO summit, President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev stressed that the signing of the Agreement on the construction of the railway was a historic event that would open up broad opportunities for strengthening interconnectedness, increasing mutual trade and ensuring sustainable economic growth in the space of our Organization.

In turn, Chinese President Xi Jinping said that Beijing supports the construction of the railway and intends to promote its early launch. Moreover, China is ready, together with Uzbekistan, to improve the construction of the trans-Eurasian transport corridor.

According to the President of Kyrgyzstan S. Japarov, the construction of the "iron" highway should become a flagship project within the framework of the "One Belt, One Road" initiative, which is one of the most important structural projects of our time.

Speaking about the breakthrough nature of this Agreement, it is necessary to pay attention to the following:

Firstly, against the backdrop of large-scale geopolitical transformations, the countries of the region are searching for additional continental routes that are designed to ensure the access of the countries of Central Asia to world markets, and in this regard, the construction of the railway will allow the region to become one of the main transit hubs between East Asia and Europe, increase trade - economic and transit potential by providing the shortest access to the ports of the Persian Gulf and the Pacific Ocean.

In addition, the implementation of the railway project will significantly reduce the distance from East Asia to the countries of the Middle East and Southern Europe - up to 900 kilometers, as well as the delivery time of goods - by 7-8 days. This will have a positive impact on the growth of mutual trade between Central Asia and the countries of East Asia and Europe, as well as the export potential of the entire Central Asian region by reducing the cost of exports and imports of goods.

In turn, this will saturate the regional market with demanded goods, accelerate the flow of necessary technologies for the modernization of our economies, and also increase foreign exchange reserves by increasing trade in foreign markets with more competitive goods.

Moreover, in the future, the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway can be connected with the trans-Afghan transport corridor, which, in turn, will turn the region into one of the important links in the East-West international transport corridor. The construction of the Termez-Mazari-Sharif-Kabul-Peshawar railway, which is a key element of this corridor, will expand the transit capabilities of the North-South international transport corridor by gaining access to the markets of South Asia.

At the same time, the implementation of the trans-Afghan corridor will help stabilize the domestic political situation in Afghanistan by increasing its economic well-being, which is in the interests of all of Central Asia and other neighboring countries.

The main result will be that the diversification of transport corridors will strengthen interregional interconnectedness, and this, as the President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev succinctly noted, will strengthen good neighborliness and mutual trust, friendship and respect between the peoples of various states of the world, and will contribute to the sustainable development of the vast Eurasian space.

Secondly, one of the main beneficiaries of the railway will be Kyrgyzstan, since its implementation will create about 20 thousand jobs in the country, the volume of transported goods in the future may increase to 15 million tons per year with income in US$200 million. However, even more important is the fact that the launch of the railway project will not only unlock the transport potential of Kyrgyzstan and the region, but also transform it and the Central Asian space into a sustainable economic corridor.

Bishkek will receive additional opportunities for the development of minerals deposited along its route (the Sandyk aluminum deposit, Jetim-Too iron deposit, etc.). The construction of the railway will simultaneously become a trigger for the development of related sectors of the economy of Kyrgyzstan - transport, services, industry. This, of course, will contribute to an increase in the volume of the state budget and the socio-economic stability of the fraternal country, which is an integral part of Central Asia, and will have a stabilizing effect on the situation in the region as a whole.

Thirdly, the implementation of the project will allow Uzbekistan to significantly increase its transit potential, and in the future to become one of the important participants in the intercontinental transport corridor, which will provide the shortest land route from Asia to Europe, as well as expand the geography of trade with the countries of East Asia and Europe.

In general, this Agreement was the result of the policy of Shavkat Mirziyoyev to strengthen interregional interconnectedness, unlocking the economic potential of Central Asia. There is every reason to boldly assert that the unified position of the heads of state participating in the project for the implementation of the railway indicates the irreversible nature of the completion of the construction of this highway.

The adoption, at the initiative of the leader of Uzbekistan, by the heads of the SCO member states of the Concept of Cooperation of the Organization on the development of interconnectedness and the creation of effective transport corridors, will undoubtedly also contribute to the implementation of this landmark project.

In conclusion, I would like to note that during the implementation of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway project and the subsequent development of the transport infrastructure of Central Asia, the countries of the region will receive the shortest access to economic development centers, the opportunity to discover and increase their economic potential and, thereby, play a stabilizing role in the vast expanse of Eurasia, acting not only as a transit corridor, but also as a production and logistics hub linking North-South and East-West.

Janibek Turdybaev

Leading Researcher

Institute for Strategic and Interregional Studies under the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan