The Institute of Strategic and Regional Studies under the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan and Türkiye’s Marmara Group Foundation organized a roundtable discussion on “Uzbekistan – Türkiye: Comprehensive Strategic Partnership".

The event was attended by representatives of the Turkish diplomatic mission in Tashkent, authoritative scientific and expert circles, and the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA) leadership.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs employees, heads, and experts of leading think tanks, such as the Information and Analytical Center for International Relations, the Institute of Forecasting and Macroeconomic Research, the Development Strategy Center, and the Center for Progressive Reforms, attended the event.

The parties exchanged views on the state and prospects for developing bilateral cooperation and developed new ideas and proposals to strengthen trade, economic and investment, cultural and humanitarian ties.

In recent years, Uzbekistan – Türkiye relations have demonstrated high development dynamics; they have risen to the level of a comprehensive strategic partnership. Using the potential of cooperation with Türkiye can positively impact the modernization of the national economy and maintain high rates of development in Uzbekistan. Both countries advocate the creation of trans-regional connectivity between Türkiye and Central Asia, which will unlock the region’s raw materials, production, and human potential and integrate it into global value chains. In turn, the Central Asian states can become a springboard for Türkiye to enter the markets of third countries.

In this context, cooperation in the transport and communications sector is even more significant, as it can bring additional economic dividends. The demand for this is associated with ongoing changes in the global economy. Thus, the observed reconfiguration of supply chains creates new opportunities for the sustainable development of Uzbekistan and Türkiye, which can find their rightful place in the emerging new global production and logistics chains model.

Uzbekistan can be an essential land corridor providing Türkiye with access to the EAEU, China, and South Asia markets. At the same time, Türkiye can become Uzbekistan’s gateway to European markets. Realizing this, countries have already begun implementing projects within the framework of large transport corridors “East-West” and “North-South”.

In this regard, the start of Uzbekistan’s use of the transit potential of the Baku – Tbilisi – Kars railway and the launch of the new land transit corridor Türkiye – Iran – Turkmenistan – Uzbekistan are noteworthy. The above projects are part of the parties’ common aspirations to create a connecting link of ample “transcontinental connectivity”. This should be facilitated by plans to implement the multimodal corridor “APR – China – Kyrgyzstan – Uzbekistan – Turkmenistan – Azerbaijan – Georgia – Türkiye – Europe”.

The following important factor encouraging countries to strengthen bilateral ties is cultural and historical commonality. This creates a reliable basis for practically implementing all the above plans and further promoting a pragmatic cooperation agenda.

The above facts make it natural to strengthen a multifaceted partnership. A similar trend is visible in the intensity of political contacts at the highest level and the institutionalization of political dialogue. Among them are the Supreme Council for Strategic Partnership chaired by heads of state, a joint group on strategic planning at the level of foreign ministers, and inter-parliamentary cooperation groups. The use of these platforms gives Uzbekistan – Türkiye relations a significant and systematic character. In this regard, the dynamics of trade and economic exchanges are fascinating. Türkiye is the 4th largest trading partner of Uzbekistan. In 2022, the trade volume between the countries amounted to $3.2 billion and increased by more than 2.5 times compared to 2016 ($1.2 billion). As a result, Türkiye accounts for 6.4% of Uzbekistan’s total trade turnover with the outside world. Plans are outlined to increase trade volumes to $5 billion.

At the same time, the interest of Turkish business in the Uzbekistan market is growing. Since 2016, the number of enterprises with Turkish capital has increased 6 times (2016 – 410 companies), reaching more than 2.3 thousand units. In just 5 months of 2023, 121 of them were established. As a result, Turkish companies operate more than 15% of all existing ones in Uzbekistan. All this allowed Türkiye to enter the four countries that are the largest investors in the economy of Uzbekistan. Turkish business representatives are investing in Uzbekistan’s core sectors: energy, construction, agriculture, and infrastructure. This is in tune with the fundamental goals of the Development Strategy of Uzbekistan.

Particular attention is drawn to strengthening the role of Türkiye in ensuring the energy security of Uzbekistan. In particular, since 2016, seven large energy projects with a total capacity of more than 2 thousand MW have been implemented in the country with the participation of Turkish enterprises. Cooperation is also developing in the tourism sector. Recently, Türkiye has been consolidating its status as the most attractive destination for Uzbek tourists, who make more than 200 thousand trips annually. This country ranks fifth in the number of foreign citizens arriving in Uzbekistan for tourism purposes. In 2022, 75 thousand tourists from Türkiye visited Uzbekistan, almost 2 times more than in 2021.

There is an increase in fruitful cooperation through international institutions, especially within the framework of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS), which has recently become a practical structure with a solid agenda and strategic multilateral projects.

Countries also provide mutual political support within the framework of international organizations such as the UN, OSCE, OIC, and ECO.

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G. Khonnazarov, photos by D. Ernazarov, UzA