Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- On 10-11 November 2022, the first summit of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS) was held in Samarkand. This significant international event brought together the heads of states and governments of Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkey, Hungary, as well as the Chairman of the Halk Maslakhaty Milli Gengesh of Turkmenistan.

During the event, an exchange of views took place on the most pressing issues of the regional and international agenda, as well as promising areas of cooperation between the states of the Turkic world.

Speaking at the summit, the President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev proposed a number of relevant and popular initiatives. In particular, the Head of State initiated the development of a detailed plan and effective mechanisms for cooperation based on the Program for the Development of Transport Connectivity adopted at the event. At the same time, it is proposed to focus on increasing the competitiveness of transit corridors in our region, introducing the most favorable tariffs for business, and creating a modern transport infrastructure.

It should be noted that the OTS countries have a large transport and transit potential, which has not yet been fully realized. In particular, the regions of Central Asia, the South Caucasus and Asia Minor are important transport hub at the intersection of routes in the direction of North-South and East-West.

In this regard, cooperation in the transport and communications sector has been identified as one of the key priorities of the Organization, and this area has been especially developed recently. In particular,

in the document “Vision of the Turkic world - 2040” adopted in Istanbul, it is noted that for the countries of the OTS, the sphere of transport interconnectedness is of particular strategic and geo-economic importance. The document also implies the digitalization of transport and transit procedures.

In addition, there is a mechanism of regular meetings of the heads of transport departments (5 meetings were held) and customs authorities (8 meetings) of the member countries of the Organization, which solve emerging problems and develop common approaches to develop cooperation in this area.

Speaking about the development of interconnectedness within the framework of the OTS, it is necessary to especially note the Trans-Caspian transport corridor, which can become an important link in the chain of continuous supply in the East-West direction using multimodal transportation through the ports of the Caspian Sea.

The Organization is also making efforts to promote the multimodal transport corridor "Asian-Pacific countries - China - Kyrgyzstan - Uzbekistan - Turkmenistan - ports of the Caspian Sea - Azerbaijan - Georgia - Turkey - EU countries".

In addition, it is planned to create a mechanism for the development of a new direction of the Trans-Caspian corridor with the participation of Turkey, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan.

Without a doubt, the development of the Trans-Caspian Treaty, along with the implementation of Uzbekistan’s initiative to build the Trans-Afghan Railway, as well as the implementation of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway project, will increase the attractiveness of our region as a transit bridge between Asia and Europe.

In turn, Uzbekistan gives priority to the development of international transport corridors, digitalization of logistics chains, including the processes of passing goods and vehicles through border points, optimization of transport and other costs in the cost of export products, and increasing the speed of delivery of goods.

In particular, modern digital tools such as eTIR, ePermit and eCMR are being consistently introduced. As part of the first stage of introducing the ePermit electronic system into practice

in November 2021, Uzbekistan, together with the Turkish side, organized a test rally. At the next stage, there is an agreement on the implementation of this project with Kazakhstan.

Moreover, on 17 November 2020, the first pilot trucking between Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan using electronic guarantees (e-guarantee) took place. Later, similar shipments were tested between Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan (March 2022).

In general, the effective use of the transport and transit potential of the countries of the Organization serves the common strategic interests of the Turkic countries. Thanks to a branched and integrated transport system, the OTS space can become a key transport and logistics corridor on the Eurasian continent.

In this vein, the initiatives put forward by the President of Uzbekistan during the OTS summit in Samarkand will help strengthen connectivity, fully utilize the transport and logistics potential, as well as expand trade and economic relations between the OTS states.

Marat Aitov,

Head of the Department of the Institute for Strategic and Interregional Relations under

President of the Republic of Uzbekistan