A swirl of recent activity in Central Asia and the Caspian Basin aimed at improving trade is belying the notion that August is vacation season.
Late August this year was a time for state visits, with Azerbaijan’s leader, Ilham Aliyev traveling to Uzbekistan, and Kazakstan’s president, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, visiting Tajikistan. The dominant theme of both trips was strengthening trade ties.
Following discussions with Aliyev, Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev proclaimed 2025 the “Year of Economic Cooperation” between the two countries. “We discussed in detail the whole range of our multifaceted relations, listened to reports on key areas,” Mirziyoyev told journalists in Tashkent. “First of all, it is trade, industrial cooperation, energy, transport, agriculture, where we have very big opportunities.”
The two states have developed a 20-point economic cooperation blueprint, including plans to create textile manufacturing “clusters” and expand trans-Caspian connections to “maximize the potential of interregional ties,” Mirziyoyev added. Aliyev, meanwhile, said the two countries aimed to “saturate our trade and economic relations with concrete content.”
The visit’s outcome provided added momentum to an ambitious project involving Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan to develop solar- and wind-generated electricity for export to Europe.
Tokayev was similarly upbeat following meetings with Tajik leaders, including President Emomali Rahmon, noting that a target to boost annual bilateral trade turnover to $2 billion was achievable. Of the 15 agreements signed during the visit, perhaps the most significant was a memorandum of cooperation aiming to standardize bilateral trade rules, inspections and other customs procedures. Such harmonization of practices is vital for facilitating an expansion of commerce.
Following up on Tokayev’s visit, Kazakh and Tajik officials are discussing a deal under which Kazakhstan would import Tajik-generated electricity, the Ferghana News outlet reported August 29. Such an arrangement could provide a boost to Kazakhstan’s participation in its “green-power” consortium with Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan.
The late August action isn’t limited to just a few states. The Kyrgyz government engaged Turkmen officials in talks on August 27 aimed at expanding the much-discussed China-Kyrgyz-Uzbek railway project onward to Turkmenistan to create a terminal on the Caspian Sea. During the discussions, Kyrgyz Economy Minister Daniyar Amangeldiyev emphasized “the importance of cooperation in international cargo transportation,” according to a report distributed by the Ekonomist.kg outlet.
Elsewhere, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan are planning to simplify cross-border travel for citizens of the two states. New procedures that will allow entry with a national ID card, not a passport, are being finalized. The Uzbek-Kazakh simplified rules would mimic procedures already in place along the Uzbek-Kyrgyz border. “Today, the borders between Uzbekistan and the countries of Central Asia can rightfully be called bridges of friendship and good neighborliness,” the Kursiv news outlet quoted Uzbek presidential aide Abdulaziz Kamilov as saying.
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