Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- On 4 June, the IV Forum of think tanks “Central Asia - China” was held in Tashkent on the topic “Mutually beneficial cooperation on the path to shared prosperity and sustainable development.”

The forum was organized by the Institute of Strategic and Interregional Studies under the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan jointly with the Institute of Russia, Eastern Europe and Central Asia of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

The forum is held as part of the practical implementation of the initiative of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev, announced in May 2023 at the summit of the heads of state of China and Central Asian countries in Xi’an.

The event was attended by more than 40 leaders and experts from about 20 leading research and analytical centers, heads of diplomatic missions of Central Asian states and China in our country.

The forum participants discussed the current state of cooperation between China and the countries of Central Asia, prospects for deepening multilateral cooperation in the field of industrial cooperation, digitalization, green economy, as well as in the transport, logistics and innovation spheres.

In his speech, the director of the International Institute of Central Asia (MICA), Javlon Vakhabov, noted that the President of Uzbekistan in Xi’an, he especially emphasized the importance of creating effective mechanisms for interaction in the main areas of regional cooperation.

In this regard, he drew attention to strengthening the sustainability of trade exchanges and investment cooperation between the countries of the region and China, by ensuring a balanced growth in mutual supplies of industrial goods and agricultural products.

At the same time, the director of MICA emphasized that the most important priority remains a radical improvement in transport and general economic interconnectedness of the countries of the region and China, and also emphasized the importance of the construction of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway, which will become the main backbone infrastructure project of the China-Central Economic Corridor Asia-Western Asia".

According to him, another strategic goal is to expand investments in human capital, especially in education and developing the potential of youth in the region, by increasing the cadre of industry specialists, including skilled workers, with knowledge of the Chinese language and the specifics of working with Chinese companies.

The director of MICA also proposed to establish an intellectual dialogue between the countries of the Central Asian region and China on key issues of connecting national strategies, which will contribute to the humanitarian rapprochement of the countries of the region and China as the basis for promoting strategic partnership and mutually beneficial cooperation.

In general, the event confirmed the relevance of the expert and analytical forum and the interest of all its participants in continuing the exchange of knowledge, experience and ideas for the further development of cooperation between the countries of Central Asia and the PRC.