"It is time to infuse some drive into Azerbaijani-Uzbek-relations" Expert opinions on Caliber.Az

Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan are accelerating the dynamics of their bilateral cooperation, with the two states having grand and diverse plans. A major breakthrough in the business relations of these Turkic states was, of course, linked to the official visit of Azerbaijani leader Ilham Aliyev to this country last summer, but since then a new qualitative leap seems to have been made. This impression was expressed at a panel discussion titled “Azerbaijan - Uzbekistan: new horizons of cooperation” held in Baku on August 8, which was attended by Azerbaijani and Uzbek diplomats, experts and political scientists.

As noted by the organizer of the bilateral event, Chairman of the Center for Analysis of International Relations (AIR Center) Farid Shafiyev, there are already close ties between our countries, but much more is still lying ahead. As per the opinion of Uzbek Ambassador to Azerbaijan, Bakhrom Ashrafkhanov, Uzbek-Azerbaijani cooperation has moved to a new and more advanced stage of development in recent years. In turn, the Azerbaijani Ambassador to Uzbekistan, Huseyn Guliyev, pointed to the important role of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS) in the unification of Turkic countries and resolution of key issues.

Participants of the round table were, understandably, encouraged by the announcement that the President of Uzbekistan, Shavkat Mirziyoyev, is going to visit Azerbaijan by the end of summer. We would like to know more about this event: which aspects of cooperation of our countries will be touched upon during Mirziyoyev’s visit and how are they connected with the fundamental changes in geopolitics of the region?

It should be noted, that contact between the heads of our States took place and this year as well as last year and were as vivid as possible. The President of Azerbaijan visited Uzbekistan three times in 2022 – for both, official state visits as well as for his participation in international forums. President Mirziyoyev also visited Baku this year and took part in the summit of the Contact Group of the Non-Aligned Movement, which was held in Azerbaijan from March 1-3. On July 19, Ilham Aliyev received the Prime Minister of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Abdulla Aripov and discussed matters regarding the significance of the “Middle corridor” transport route during the meeting, the prospects of the participation of Uzbek companies in the Free Economic Zone established in our country in the Alat port, as well as the activity of the intergovernmental commission. At the same time, the interlocutors stressed the importance of the 12th meeting of that same Joint Azerbaijan-Uzbek Intergovernmental Commission, held in Shusha on July 18.

The tight schedule of contacts between the heads of the two States and members of the government suggests that the forthcoming visit of the Uzbek head of state to Baku is linked to the purpose of consolidating the existing agreements.

Farid Shafiyev, chairman of the Center for Analysis of International Relations (AIR Center), is convinced of that. In his opinion, Shavkat Mirziyoyev’s visit to Azerbaijan is connected with the further development of bilateral relations, primarily in the economic and security spheres. At the same time, as the political scientist noted in his conversation with Caliber.Az, a large potential for cooperation is seen in the field of investment and tourism. Therefore, he believes, it is worth taking care of eliminating bureaucratic obstacles in these areas.

"During the presidential visit, the topic of cooperation in the field of education will be discussed and as a practical step, a school will be opened in Fizuli. It is a gesture of support to our country on the part of Uzbekistan in the restoration of the liberated territories”, the AIR director informed.

Uzbek political scientist, international scholar Rafael Sattarov noted, that the great political economic dream of the Uzbek leadership, since the presidency of Islam Karimov, is access to sea ports and the world ocean.

“The Uzbek authorities have considered the route through Turkmenistan and Iran to the Iranian port of Chabahar in their minds and projects. The second route to the sea was via Afghanistan and Pakistan to the Pakistani port of Gwadar. These projects have not been removed from the agenda, but the ‘Middle Corridor’ seems to be the most convenient and promising way to get through the Caspian Sea to Azerbaijan and Türkiye and further to the Turkish ports in the Black and Mediterranean Sea. Each project consists of both, benefits and disadvantages associated with this or that country’s international isolation and poor or outdated transport infrastructure. Large-scale investments are required to address such weaknesses. The effectiveness of any international project also depends on the political situation in the involved countries. When different warlords and leaders of various movements rule a certain region, organize raids, terrorist attacks and attacks on caravans of trucks or business objects, it makes it very difficult to implement transport projects”, the Uzbek political scientist adds.

Therefore, Sattarov believes, the Uzbek government is absolutely right in betting on the development of the “Middle Corridor”. This route is advantageous because it is less prone to political risks and, according to the expert, has a better chance of implementation than the passages through Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan. Therefore the “Middle corridor” poses an important moment of cooperation between Baku and Tashkent.

“Diversification of logistics and transport corridors is Uzbekistan’s long-standing political dream. The mainstreaming of these issues is linked to various events. The current actions of the Uzbek authorities have been actualized by the global pandemic, which greatly changed the supply chains, then the war of Russia against Ukraine, which couldn’t have not negatively affect the supply hubs, including in Uzbekistan. Because of the war, the import of pharmaceutical goods into our country was disrupted, food products from Ukraine ceased to flow. And some goods from Uzbekistan were simply lost in the territory of the Russian Federation - cars, chemical and agricultural products, which led to large losses. In this regard, if we look at the dynamics of the relations not only between Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan, but also Kazakh-Azerbaijani business relations, it should be noted that the leaders of the three states are seriously considering and expanding the cooperation regarding matters of diversification of transport hubs of export supplies”, Sattarov asserts.

At the same time, the political scientist notes that “the fate of Uzbeks and Azerbaijanis is quite deeply intertwined, mutual cultural and humanitarian points of contact are multiple, and this commonality should be developed”.

“The only thing this relationship is lacking is a certain drive and it is time to give the green light to strengthening cooperation between private capital and its movement. Thus, we need to expand our routes to the Turkish ports of Iskenderun, Trabzon and the Georgian Black Sea ports. Our ancestors have laid the routes and created states in different parts of Eurasia and Africa in the past, and in this respect we also need to expand the field of vision of global development of the logistical prospects of the two countries and boldly implement them, firmly and decisively”, Sattarov said concludingly.