Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) – As part of the event held on 14 September 2023 in Dushanbe of the Fifth Consultative Meeting of the Heads of States of Central Asia, the creation of the Economic Council of Central Asian States was adopted.

President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev put forward a number of very relevant initiatives designed to contribute to the further development of the region. Among them is a proposal to create an Economic Council of Central Asian States.

This mechanism is aimed at expanding practical interaction in the field of trade and economic cooperation in Central Asia, increasing the level of trade turnover, strengthening export opportunities, increasing attractiveness for investment and stimulating the innovative development of countries in the region.

One of the evidence of the relevance of the initiative put forward by the Leader of Uzbekistan was the holding on the eve of the anniversary Consultative Meeting of the Economic Forum of Central Asian States on the topic “Digital Economy, Digital Trade and Innovation.

Within the framework of this forum, issues of exchange of experience and prospects for cooperation between Central Asian countries in the field of digital economy, implementation of the e-government system in the country, e-commerce and digitalization of public services, as well as innovations were discussed.

The activities of the new format proposed by the President of Uzbekistan can be borrowed by analogy with the work of the Business Council of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, whose member states are the countries of Central Asia.

In this regard, it seems that the initiative of the Head of State to create the Economic Council of the Central Asian States opens up new opportunities for further strengthening trade and economic interaction between the countries of the Central Asian region, attracting more investment, applying innovative technologies in the Central Asian region, as well as further integration into regional and global economic mechanisms.

Azizkhan Nazirov

Chief Researcher

International Institute of Central Asia