On 14 June, Astana hosted the VII Central Asian Expert Forum "Central Asia: Gravity of Trust".

The event was organised by the Kazakhstan Institute for Strategic Studies under the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan (KISS) together with the UN Regional Centre for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia and the Friedrich Ebert Foundation.

The Forum was attended by heads and experts of the Presidential Centres for Strategic Studies of Central Asia, UN representatives, and the Ebert Foundation.

The Uzbek side was represented by the heads and experts of the International Institute of Central Asia (IICA) and the Institute for Strategic and Interregional Studies under the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan (ISIS).

The event consisted of plenary and thematic sessions dedicated to launching a new cycle of regional cooperation, as well as expanding the space of trust between the countries of the region at the political, trade and economic, expert and public levels.

In his welcoming speech, KISI Director Yerkin Tukumov noted the high trust relations between the expert circles of the region's countries. "Kazakhstan signed the Treaty on Allied Relations with Uzbekistan back in 2022. Treaties on allied relations have also been concluded and expanded with Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. All this speaks of a high level of trust, to which we, the expert community, have also contributed."

Further, Director of the Central Asia Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan Temirbek Kappasov highly appreciated the five-sided interstate dialogue of the countries of the region. "This format of interaction has given a significant impetus to the expansion of comprehensive cooperation in the spheres of trade, industrial cooperation, energy, transport and logistics. The volume of intra-regional trade over the last 5 years has grown by more than 80% to $11 billion, having almost doubled since the first Consultative Meeting".

In turn, Imnadze Kakha, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Central Asia and Head of the UN Regional Centre for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia, stressed that today the strategic partnership between the countries of the region is reaching a new level. "The aspiration of the Central Asian states to develop regional dialogue on the basis of strengthening trust and mutual understanding, equality, respect and consideration of each other's interests has already become an obvious fact. The results of the past five Consultative Meetings of the Heads of Central Asian States, at which important political decisions were taken to strengthen regional interaction in Central Asia, are clear evidence of this".

At the same time, Country Director of the Friedrich Ebert Foundation (FES) in Kazakhstan Wolters Alexander noted that the issues of regional integration in the global situation are of great importance and relevance. "The fact that the Central Asian countries are demonstrating to the world community a desire to give a new impetus to their relations and practical co-operation in various spheres - political, economic, humanitarian - arouses justified interest and support from many world experts and partners."

At the opening of the plenary session, IICA Director Zhavlon Vakhabov emphasised that the radical change in the political environment in the region and the new mechanisms of interaction between countries within the framework of CESGCA have significantly contributed to the economies of the region's countries taking the path of sustainable and stable development. "This was one of the factors behind the notable growth in the aggregate GDP of the region's countries, which last year exceeded $400bn. The improved business climate and greater political stability played a key role in increasing the inflow of foreign direct investment into the region, which totalled more than $50bn in 2023, twice as much as in 2016 ($26.7bn). The total foreign trade turnover of CA countries reached $240bn, almost doubling compared to 2017 ($126bn). The volume of intra-regional trade ($10bn) has doubled."

The Director of IICA emphasised that further growth of these indicators will be facilitated by the development of cross-border trade zones between the countries of the region.

"Investment co-operation within Central Asia has grown 5.6 times. In Uzbekistan, the number of JVs with the countries of the region has grown 5 times in 6 years - from 312 to 1600. Joint projects have already been launched in the automotive industry, electrical engineering, agricultural sector, textile industry, etc. According to Boston Consulting Group forecasts, by 2030 Central Asia may attract up to $170bn of investments, including $40-70bn in non-resource industries," Vakhabov noted in his speech. Vakhabov.

However, he also emphasised that, despite these achievements, a whole range of challenges remain that have an impact on economic growth and social stability, including an acute lack of regional cooperation, as well as the region's extremely unfavourable transport and logistics situation. "Central Asian countries remain among the least interconnected economies in the world. According to World Bank estimates, the region's connectivity indicator averages less than 60 per cent of access to global GDP," Vakhabov concluded.

In continuation of the session, ISIS First Deputy Director Neymatov Akramjon noted that today Central Asia is much more united and resilient to the challenges of modernity than ever before. "Through joint efforts, we manage to maintain peace and harmony in the region. Our countries show greater willingness to assume responsibility for ensuring common and indivisible security and sustainable development of the region. This is also evidenced by the mechanism of meetings of the secretaries of security councils of Central Asian states launched last month, regular meetings of the heads of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, heads of the Interior Ministries of the Central Asian countries and other formats." At the end of the conference, the participants presented a number of concrete practical proposals to deepen ties between the countries of the region in the political and diplomatic, trade and economic, investment, cultural and humanitarian spheres, which will contribute to the identification of new points of growth and are aimed at actually improving the well-being of the peoples of Central Asia.