Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- The President of Uzbekistan, within the framework of cooperation in the Organization of Turkic States (OTS), regularly draws attention to the topic of digitalization and the need for the early formation of unified digital platforms, the digitalization of customs procedures, which are an integral factor in increasing trade performance and strengthening transport interconnectedness between the Turkic countries.

During the summit of the heads of state of the Organization of Turkic States in Samarkand, the Head of our state outlined:

“Another topical issue on the agenda of strategic importance is the strengthening of interconnectedness in the transport sector.”

The timeliness and relevance of this initiative once again prove the key and strategic importance of transport and digital connectivity in realizing the economic potential of OTSs.

The OTS space, covering over 170 million inhabitants on an area of more than 4 million km2, is a large market connecting East-West, North-South, the total GDP of member states and observers is about US$ 1.4 trillion. The share of the total GDP of OTS members in world GDP is about 1.4%, and in terms of purchasing power parity (PPP) - about US$4.5 trillion. (3% of the world).

The OTS countries account for 22.4% of the total trade turnover of Uzbekistan. In recent years, mutual trade with the states of the organization has grown by 2.4 times, amounting to US$9.4 billion in 2021.

In turn, it is important to note that one of the strategic areas of interaction between the OTS countries is the development of interconnectedness through the creation of efficient transport and logistics routes.

Even at last year’s Istanbul summit of the OTS, the Head of Uzbekistan put forward an urgent initiative to develop a "Program for the interconnectedness of the countries participating in the OTS in the transport sector."

At the same time, in October this year, the sixth meeting of the Ministers of Transport of the OTS was held in Tashkent, as a result of which two documents were signed - the Agreement on International Multimodal Transportation between the Member States of the OTS and the program of Interaction in the field of transport.

These conceptual initiatives will allow the OTS member countries to increase transport and transit traffic, dramatically increase the volume of mutual trade, accelerate the digitalization of transport platforms, jointly enter the markets of third countries, create efficient logistics chains, and promote the identification of new alternative transport corridors.

It is important to emphasize that in order to strengthen the transport interconnectedness of the OTS member countries and observers, the implementation of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan and Termez-Mazari-Sharif-Kabul-Peshawar railway construction projects can also act as a more branched one.

Both projects can significantly expand the opportunities and strengthen the transport and transit potential of the OTS member countries and observers in the global transport and logistics component.

It is important to highlight that already in September 2022 the first pilot train was successfully launched on the route "China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan-Afghanistan" (from Kashgar to Osh by road, and further from Uzbekistan to Mazar-i-Sharif by rail).

In order to increase the trade turnover, the participating states of this corridor provided discounts for transportation up to 50%, and Uzbekistan - 70%, which will reduce the cost of cargo delivery by almost 3 times.

In turn, the implementation of these projects diversifies the transport flows of Central Asia and contributes to strengthening the interconnectedness and digitalization of the Turkic states.

We already have some experience in this area, the pilot project “ePermit” between Uzbekistan and Turkey and the “digital TIR”, as well as the “green corridor” between Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, have been launched in test mode.

At the same time, Conferences were held for IT specialists in the field of "smart cities" and a forum for young startups within the framework of "IctWeek Uzbekistan-2022" and "InnoWeek.Uz" in October 2022.

Using the possibilities of digital technologies in the future will simplify customs and transport procedures, solve the issues of cargo idle at the borders and contribute to the further development of trade and the growth of the economies of the OTS countries.

At the same time, the adopted "Concept of the Turkic World 2040" will significantly expand the scope of cooperation within the framework of the OTS and significantly affect the economic potential of the organization, while strengthening the prospects for the development of transport, digital and telecommunications interconnectedness of the organization.

Taking into account the significance and role of this summit and the importance of the initiatives put forward, the topic of digital transformation will continue to be a key link in the development and further interconnection of the OTS countries.

In this context, it is worth noting the importance of the chairmanship of Uzbekistan in the OTS, which will undoubtedly give a new impetus to the formation of a single digital space.

The result of the above is the signing of the Samarkand Declaration of the summit of the Organization of Turkic States, aimed at further expanding multifaceted cooperation.

Shavkat Alimbekov

Leading Research Fellow at the International Institute of Central Asia