Kyrgyz President Sadyr Zhaparov drew the attention of his colleagues at the Baku summit to the need for diversifying international transportation systems, including those in Central Asia and the Caucasus.
The Jubilee Summit at the level of heads of states participating in the United Nations Special Program for the Economies of Central Asian Countries (SPECA) took place in Baku. The UN program includes Azerbaijan, Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. It was established in 1998, and the current summit marks the 25th anniversary of the program.
In his speech, Sadyr Zhaparov emphasized the prerequisites for activating economic cooperation among SPECA members through the promotion of international trade, transit transportation, infrastructure development, the implementation of digital technologies, and regional integration under current conditions.
"We see prospects in expanding cooperation and strengthening our ties with neighboring countries and regions. This will help increase our markets, improve the exchange of knowledge and experience, and create new development opportunities," said Zhaparov in his speech.
He particularly stressed the relevance of this issue for Kyrgyzstan, which critically needs to diversify international transport corridors due to various circumstances.
"This will reduce dependence on one or several transit routes, create conditions for improving economic stability, security, and reduce risks in the transportation of goods and passengers," President Zhaparov emphasized.
He highlighted the particular significance for Kyrgyzstan and all the countries in the region of the strategic project to build the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway.
"The implementation of this mega-project will quickly take our region out of the transport deadlock, connect about four billion people, expand the geography of transportation from Asia through Turkey to Europe, to the Middle East, Iran, the countries of the Persian Gulf, and North Africa," said Zhaparov.
In addition to this, Japarov informed his colleagues about Kyrgyzstan's efforts to organize and implement cargo transportation routes from Kyrgyzstan to Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Iran, Turkey, and further to European countries, as well as from Kyrgyzstan to Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Iran, and further to Saudi Arabia.
He also emphasized the importance of the Southern Trans-Caspian Corridor for road and rail freight transportation from Kyrgyzstan and China to European countries, Georgia, and Azerbaijan.
Taking into account the specific features of each country in the region, Zhaparov stressed the importance of encouraging an increase in the volume of multimodal transportation, creating favorable conditions for this, including through the harmonization of legal regimes.
The importance of diversifying the economies of countries towards green economies and the significance of addressing water scarcity were also highlighted in Zhaparov's speech.
During the SPECA summit in Baku, Sadyr Zhaparov held talks with the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev. The negotiations included a comprehensive discussion on current issues of bilateral trade, economic, and cultural-humanitarian cooperation, as well as the prospects for further enhancing cooperation between Kyrgyzstan and Azerbaijan, as reported by the press service of the President of Kyrgyzstan.
During the meeting, President Aliyev noted the good dynamics of bilateral relations, which vividly demonstrates how close the people of Kyrgyzstan and Azerbaijan are to each other. Issues related to increasing trade turnover, investment policies, and other relevant matters aimed at the benefit of both states are being dynamically addressed.
During the conversation, Ilham Aliyev added that he warmly recalls his state visit to Kyrgyzstan and now looks forward to President Sadyr Zhaparov's reciprocal state visit to Azerbaijan next year.
CentralasianLIGHT.org
November 24, 2023