The agenda proposed by Tashkent for the countries of the region is seen by the
international community as a platform for changing the logical essence of regional
cooperation towards its development and strengthening the geo-economic role of Central
Asia in the world.
The adoption of a special resolution of the UN General Assembly “Strengthening
regional and international cooperation to ensure peace, stability and sustainable
development in the Central Asian region” on June 22, 2018 by the initiative of Uzbekistan
was a significant indicator of broad support by the international community. This is the first
UN document that presents the overall consolidated position of all five Central Asian states
on the most acute problems of the region, ranging from environmental challenge and issues
related to water use, to counteracting international terrorism and religious extremism.
Other initiatives declared by the President of Uzbekistan at the Samarkand
International Conference in November 2017 “Central Asia: Shared Past and a Common
Future, Cooperation for Sustainable Development and Mutual Prosperity” received similar
support. Tashkent’s strategic proposals, which laid the foundation for a viable and efficient
model of cooperation in the region, includes the launch of a mechanism for consultative
meetings of the heads of Central Asian states, the creation of a Regional Economic Forum,
the establishment of the Association of Regional Leaders and the business communities of
the region.
Today we can confidently assert that the “Samarkand consensus” reached by the
countries of Central Asia during this conference was the starting point not only for
“resetting” intergovernmental relations in the region, but also entering the fundamentally
new dialogue areas, qualitatively new interaction with international community. Moreover,
for the first time, Afghanistan actively involved in regional cooperation processes, as
evidenced by the results of the high-level international conference “Peace Process, Security
Cooperation and Regional Co Collaboration” held on March 27, 2018 by the initiative of
President Sh. M. Mirziyoyev.
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