Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- The fifth anniversary Consultative Meeting of the Heads of States of Central Asia, which took place on 14 September in Dushanbe, became a truly historic event, personifying a vivid example of the solidarity of regional cooperation, as well as readiness to strengthen peace and stability in the region.

It should be noted that during the existence of the Consultative Meetings platform itself, a trusting basis was created for discussing issues related to the development of the region, security and cooperation in Central Asia.

In this context, it is important to emphasize the economic value of this format of cooperation. Over the past 6 years, the total GDP of the five countries has doubled, amounting to more than US$400 billion. Mutual trade is growing dynamically. In the total volume of foreign trade turnover of the countries of Central Asia, it increased from 6% in 2014 to 11% in 2022.

Stability, security and the formation of a large interconnected market in Central Asia are attracting increasing attention from investors. In 2022 alone, the volume of foreign direct investment in this region reached more than US$40 billion, which is 2.8% of total global investment. And the accumulated total volume of FDI in the region since 2000 has exceeded US$250 billion.

As a result of intraregional interaction, the Cooperation Index of Central Asian countries for 2017-2021 increased 1.3 times from 28% to 38%.

Within the framework of the Dushanbe meeting of the heads of Central Asia, a number of significant economic achievements and prospects for cooperation were discussed.

Particular attention was paid to the issue of strengthening regional transport connectivity.

As the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan emphasized, the geographic distance of Central Asia from the main world markets greatly increases the costs of transporting goods from the countries of the region to international markets. Sometimes these costs reach up to 50% of the total cost of production, which is much higher than the global average of 11%. This factor negatively affects the competitiveness of Central Asian products and the transport sector as a whole.

In this regard, the joint efforts of the countries of the region in this direction are of particular importance. Based on this, within the framework of the Consultative Meeting, the first meeting of the transport ministers of the Central Asian countries was organized. As a result, a Joint Communiqué on cooperation in the field of transport and logistics was adopted.

World Bank experts note that the use of an integrated approach to improving transport infrastructure in Central Asia, aimed at reducing cargo delivery times and reducing trade tariffs, can help increase the GDP of the region’s countries by about 15%.

During the meeting, the Head of Uzbekistan proposed to develop and adopt an Agreement on Transport and Transit in Central Asia. The purpose of this proposal is to further increase the transport potential of the region by increasing the efficiency and reliability of transport services and reducing transport costs.

The initiatives put forward play a key role in strengthening economic ties between the countries of Central Asia and their integration into the world economy.

This will undoubtedly contribute to the growth of international trade and investment, the creation of jobs and the maintenance of sustainable economic development in the region, which is a critical aspect of social and political stability.

Nurmukhammad Bakhtiyorov is a leading researcher at the International Institute of Central Asia.