The event was attended by representatives of ministries and agencies of Tajikistan, including the leadership of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the National Academy of Sciences of Tajikistan (NAST), Majlisi Namoyandagon, Majlisi Oli, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Academy of Public Administration under the President of the Republic of Tajikistan.
The Uzbek side was represented by experts from the International Institute of Central Asia, the Institute for Strategic and Regional Studies under the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan (ISRS), the Center for Economic Research and Reforms (CERR), the Information and Analytical Center for International Relations (IACIR), the Institute for Prospective International Studies (IPIS) and the Institute for Macroeconomic and Regional Studies (IMRS).
The event consisted of three thematic sessions dedicated to discussing Uzbek-Tajik strategic interaction on regional and international issues, prospects for mutually beneficial cooperation in the spheres of economy, energy, transportation, water use, as well as expansion of exchange in the spheres of education, science, culture and tourism.
In his welcoming speech, CSS’s Director Khairiddin Usmonzoda noted that today Uzbekistan and Tajikistan are reaffirming their commitment to mutually beneficial cooperation through concrete actions. "Despite the economic turmoil in the world, both countries are opening wide to each other and sharing dividends from cooperation, exchanging sources of development, stimulating people-to-people exchanges and strengthening economic ties," said the CSS Director.
In his turn, First Deputy Foreign Minister of Tajikistan Sodik Imomi noted that further strengthening of cooperation with brotherly Uzbekistan is one of the most important directions of Tajikistan's foreign policy. According to him, relations between the countries are progressively developing on international platforms such as the UN, SCO, CIS, OSCE, OIC and other organizations. "Regular consultative meetings of the heads of Central Asian states, where common ideas and projects are promoted, are aimed at realizing the potential of multilateral cooperation in the interests of the entire region," S. Imomi added.
As emphasized by IICA Director Javlon Vakhabov, the Uzbek-Tajik relations of strategic partnership and alliance have witnessed an unprecedented upswing and this has become a direct consequence of the good-neighbor policy actively promoted by the Head of Uzbekistan since 2017. "Since then, joint efforts have managed to radically reformat the relationship, move to mutual openness and strengthen trust, establish dynamic practical cooperation and a wide humanitarian exchange," the IICA director stated. In this, as it was noted, the key role is played by the relations of personal friendship, mutual respect and trust established between the Heads of State.
As noted, the Uzbek-Tajik partnership is not limited to bilateral issues, but also includes interaction on key issues on the regional and international agenda.
It was underlined that Uzbekistan advocates joint efforts of Central Asian states to strengthen friendship, good-neighborliness and strategic partnership, to solve regional problems on the basis of equality, mutual consideration of interests and search for reasonable compromises, to deepen regional cooperation. “In this regard, Uzbekistan attributes a special role and place to Tajikistan, which is actively involved in promoting good-neighborly relations in the region," the IICA Director emphasized.
The successful holding by Tajikistan of the fifth summit of the leaders of our countries deserves the highest praise. Its results were a worthy conclusion to the first cycle of Consultative Meetings of Heads of State and a solid contribution to improving this mechanism of interaction.
In his turn, Director of the Institute for the Study of Asian and European Problems of NAST Rustam Khaidarzoda highly appreciated the role of the Head of Uzbekistan in strengthening bilateral relations with Tajikistan. "Shavkat Mirziyoyev is the most popular political leader among our people, as it is thanks to him that positive shifts have been achieved in our relations and in the region as a whole, which have been compared in the world press to the "fall of the Berlin Wall".
In their speeches, the conference participants also focused on trade and economic cooperation between the two countries. In particular, as emphasized by Mukhsinjon Kholmukhamedov, Deputy Director of CERR, thanks to the common efforts of the leaders of the countries, the volume of bilateral trade in 2023 compared to 2017 increased by more than 3 times and amounted to $756.7 million. He also noted that the establishment of a free trade regime will allow to increase this figure to $1 billion in the very near future.
Deputy Director of CSS Saodat Jurakhonzoda, in turn, drew attention to the fact that the opening of borders between the countries contributed to the development of private transportation business in border areas, which favorably affects the level of employment.
The experts also advocated the expansion of cooperation between the two countries in agriculture, energy, light industry, transport, digitalization, the formation of international economic corridors, and the creation of industrial and trade zones in border areas.
At the same time, special attention was paid to expanding people-to-people diplomacy, developing interregional ties, and strengthening cultural and humanitarian interaction.
At the end of the conference, the participants presented a number of concrete practical proposals to deepen ties between Uzbekistan and Tajikistan in political-diplomatic, trade-economic, investment and cultural-humanitarian spheres, which will contribute to identifying new points of growth and aimed at actually improving the well-being of the two fraternal peoples.
In general, increasing the level of Uzbek-Tajik interaction is becoming an important factor in ensuring security and sustainable development in the vast region of Central Asia, making a significant contribution to our common efforts to promote regional cooperation, to addressing the complex challenges of strengthening the region's place and role in international processes, its effective integration into global economic ties.
