UPDATE - Turkey stresses regional connectivity at Central-South Asia conference

UPDATES WITH JOINT STATEMENT; ADDS REMARKS BY UZBEK PRESIDENT; EDITS THROUGHOUT

By Handan Kazanci, Burak Dag, and Bahtiyar Abdulkerimov

ISTANBUL (AA) - The Turkish foreign minister on Friday stressed the importance of regional cooperation at a conference focusing on Central and South Asia.

“We need greater regional cooperation,” Mevlut Cavusoglu said at the conference, titled Central and South Asia: Regional Connectivity, Opportunities, and Challenges, in Uzbekistan’s capital Tashkent.

“We try to do our share by promoting trilateral mechanisms involving Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Iran, Pakistan, and Turkey,” Cavusoglu said.

“The Turkic Council has also emerged as a promising model of regional cooperation. We also welcome (Uzbek) President (Shavkat) Mirziyoyev’s proposal on a UN center for interconnectivity in Central Asia,” he added.

The minister also pointed out Turkey’s Asia Anew Initiative which “advocates more interregional connectivity and cooperation.”

Cavusoglu noted: “We should invest more in infrastructure.”

“Every year, the Asia-Pacific region is in need of an investment of $1.7 trillion for infrastructure.

“Turkey has completed around 100 projects worth $100 billion in 15 years, mostly through the public-private partnerships,” he added.

“Connectivity between Europe and Asia has increased thanks to these investments towards the Middle Corridor,” he said, referring to the Trans-Caspian East-West-Middle Corridor Initiative, one of the most important parts of efforts to revive the ancient Silk Road, the trade route that connects East Asia and Europe.

- Afghanistan

Noting that security challenges should be addressed, Cavusoglu also mentioned “the worsening situation in Afghanistan.”

“Without peace in Afghanistan, we cannot speak about a real peace in our continent.

“We will continue our contributions to the peace efforts. For the welfare of our Afghan brothers, we are ready to continue to secure and manage the Kabul Hamid Karzai Airport,” the Turkish foreign minister added.

Intense fighting between Afghan forces and the Taliban continues amid the withdrawal of foreign troops from the country. US President Joe Biden has said the US military mission in Afghanistan will conclude on Aug. 31.

Cavusoglu also said: “After the Second Karabakh War, new opportunities have emerged for connectivity through the Zangezur Corridor,” referring to the corridor between Azerbaijan's western part and the Nakhchivan autonomous region.

“This is also vital for normalization in the Caucasus,” he said, adding: “In the past, Central Asia was an area of great power competition. We should not let it fall back into this.”

The Turkish foreign minister said the region needs an interconnected ecosystem. “The only way for that is to promote regional cooperation through enhanced connectivity.”

Taking place on July 15-16, the conference’s main purpose “is to strengthen regional connectivity,” the Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.

As part of the conference, Cavusoglu held meetings with Uzbek officials and his counterparts from other countries participating in the event, including his Saudi counterpart Faisal bin Farhan and Uzbek President Mirziyoyev.

Speaking at the conference, Mirziyoyev said Central and South Asia, situated at the crossroads of the Great Silk Road, has served to active dialogue between peoples and civilizations for centuries.

Proposing an annual interregional forum to boost ties between regions, Mirziyoyev said: “In such a complex environment, the resumption of interaction between Central and South Asia, with a population of nearly 2 billion, has become a vital necessity and a natural process.”

He also pointed out that Afghanistan is one of the most important links in ensuring the regional connection between Central and South Asia, adding that the regional partnership will be an important factor in ensuring peace and stability in the country and in its economic recovery.

- Joint statement

Following the international conference, a joint statement was issued by the foreign ministers of the participating countries.

The statement “confirmed the need to increase cooperation in the fields of economy, investments, energy and technological innovation, primarily in the sphere of ‘green’ technologies.”

It also encouraged the “cooperation in the development and use of the transit and logistics potential of Central and South Asia through expansion of the transport and communication infrastructure under international agreements and conventions.”

Underlining the "importance of Afghanistan’s role as the 'regional bridge' for connectivity between Central and South Asia," the joint statement also "called for the economic development of Afghanistan through implementation of joint regional projects in the global economic relations."