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Uzbekistan’s initiatives for cooperation in Central Asia will serve common regional interests
2019-02-20 | Politics
On February 19, International Conference “Central Asian connectivity: challenges and new opportunities” kicked off in Tashkent.
The event, held within the framework of implementation of the main priority areas of foreign policy of the Republic of Uzbekistan designated by the Head of the state, was organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the UN Regional Center for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia.
It is attended by over 100 representatives from analytical centers of Afghanistan, the United States, Belgium, the United Kingdom, Iran, Germany, Georgia, India, Israel, Spain, Kazakhstan, Canada, Egypt, China, Korea, Kuwait, Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Pakistan, Poland, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, Turkey, Hungary, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Finland, France, Sweden, Japan.
The conference also brought together participants of organizations of the European Union and America, regional structures of the Arctic Advisory Board, as well as the World Bank, the World Trade Organization, the European Investment Bank and other international financial institutions.
The international conference is of great importance in discussing current issues, developing common approaches and defining objectives for the future.
Strengthening cooperation in trade, economy, transport, communications, security, ecology, energy, tourism was discussed at the international conference. Views were exchanged on cooperation in education and science, current initiatives were considered.
It was emphasized that further deepening of trade-economic cooperation in Central Asia is directly related to the effective implementation of free trade order in the region, simplification of customs and border procedures.
Participants of the conference gave a positive assessment to consultations of the region’s countries, which took place in a confidential atmosphere, and noted that continuation of activities in this direction will serve to further expand cooperation in trade, economy, transport, cultural-humanitarian, and other spheres.
Views were exchanged on the effective use of capabilities of the United Nations Multi-Partner Human Security Trust Fund for the Aral Sea Region, which was initiated by Uzbekistan in mitigating the consequences of the Aral tragedy, establishing peace, restoring the socio-economic infrastructure in Afghanistan.
Special attention was paid to issues of creation of transport-logistics systems that ensure the access of the region’s countries to river ports and international markets, increasing the share of the tourism sector in the economy through the effective use of existing tourism opportunities.
On the first day of the conference, sectional meetings were held on “Trade-economic cooperation”, “Ensuring regional security”, “Ecology and energy, rational use of water”, “Tourism, cultural-humanitarian relations”. Analytical reports of domestic and foreign scientists and experts were heard and discussed.
Ulugbek Shonazarov, UzA
