The President of Uzbekistan suggests forming a Central Asian alliance
Shavkat Mirziyoyev, the president of Uzbekistan, suggested on Sunday creating a regional cooperation organization he named the “Community of Central Asia” in an effort to encourage economic integration among the more than 80 million people in the region.
Speaking during a gathering of the leaders of the five post-Soviet Central Asian republics and Azerbaijan in Tashkent, Mirziyoyev proposed turning the regular gatherings of the five former Soviet Central Asian republics into a formal regional alliance.
He also emphasized the importance of strengthening security, economic, and environmental cooperation.
Rich in minerals and energy Central Asia has traditionally been tightly bound economically and politically to Russia, but is currently being courted by the West. Significant commercial influence is also enjoyed by China, a nearby neighbor.
Although there was no clear indication of how the other nations would react to the Uzbek suggestion, all five have stated recently that they seek more regional integration, even though relations were occasionally tense in previous decades.
Earlier this year, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, two of the nations, resolved a protracted border dispute that had killed hundreds of people.
Earlier this month, all five leaders traveled to Washington together to meet with US President Donald Trump.
Mirziyoyev added separately that the five nations had decided to include Azerbaijan, a predominantly Muslim South Caucasus nation that is not regarded as a part of Central Asia, in their regular meetings.
