In a statement delivered at the second consultative meeting of the Central Asian leaders in Tashkent, Tajik President Emomali Rahmon on November 29 suggested the creation of an Investment Fund in Central Asia to finance the most promising regional projects, according to the Tajik president’s official website.
Tajikistan also sees the beneficial development of cooperation with the countries of Central Asia in the field of agriculture, industry, transport and communication infrastructure, Tajik leader said, noting that the relevant multilateral agreement on developing a regional mechanism for transport and transit cooperation could be concluding.
In his statement, Emomali Rahmon also touched upon the issues of sharing water resources in the region.
“In Tajikistan, where up to 60 percent of the water resources of Central Asia are formed, in recent decades there has been a significant reduction in the area of glaciers. To date, 1 000 of the 13 000 glaciers located in the mountains of Tajikistan have disappeared,” Emomali Rahmon stressed, pointing to the necessity of taking urgent measures for the joint development and implementation of regional programs to reduce the impact of anthropogenic factors on the state of glaciers.
On the issues of providing regional security, Rahmon noted that the issues related to cooperation in the fight against terrorism and extremism, drug trafficking, transnational organized crime, cybercrime, and human trafficking come to the fore.
In this regards, he proposed to set up a mechanism for holding regular meetings of heads of power-wielding agencies and special services.
He also expressed support for international and regional efforts aimed at finding peaceful solutions to the Afghan problem.
Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev noted that “the current conditions of the rapidly changing situation in the world, the escalation of security threats and growing factors affecting the stable development, necessitate the strengthening partnership based on mutual trust and coordination,” according to News Central Asia (nCA).
The Uzbek leader presented several initiatives aimed at developing a common vision of multilateral cooperation in Central Asia: the deepening of trade, economic and investment ties; the strengthening of connectivity and unlocking of the transit potential of the region; the expansion of cooperation in the energy sector, taking into account the long-term interests of the region; and the joint formation of a recognizable tourist brand and image of Central Asia. To this end, the President of Uzbekistan proposed to hold an International tourism conference titled “Journey through Central Asia.”
Speaking at the meeting, the First President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev proposed to conclude a five-sided Treaty on good neighborliness and cooperation for the development of Central Asia in the 21st century.
This fundamental policy document should reflect the basic principles and objectives of cooperation in the region. The agreement will also fix the principle of mutual respect for the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of the five countries, he said.
Also, the first president of Kazakhstan commented on the need to remove barriers between the five countries for the free movement of goods, services and capital.
Nazarbayev also called for all heads of state to declare March 15 the day of Central Asia.
A number of initiatives touched upon the humanitarian cooperation. Kazakhstan offers to allocate 10 grants for students from each country of the region for study in the best universities of Kazakhstan.
