Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- In his speech at the 22nd meeting of the Council of Heads of States of the SCO, President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev emphasized the importance of wider use of the transport and transit potential, development of transport connectivity of the Organization’s member countries for the intensification of trade and economic ties , strengthening industrial cooperation and expanding access to global markets and announced a number of initiatives in this direction.

The head of our country noted that the adoption within the framework of the Samarkand summit of the SCO Concept on strengthening interconnectedness and the creation of effective transport corridors and the signing of the trilateral Agreement on the construction of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway were not only important historical events, but also important steps towards further strengthening transport interaction between the SCO member countries.

In this context, Shavkat Mirziyoyev called for support for the strategic project of the Trans-Afghan Corridor "Termez - Mazar-i-Sharif - Kabul - Peshawar", connecting the railway infrastructure of Central and South Asia through Afghanistan. The implementation of this railway will create unique opportunities for increasing interregional trade and will contribute to the establishment of peace and stability in Afghanistan.

In the context of the diversification of global supply chains, it is of particular importance to strengthen cooperation within the SCO in the transport and transit sector by improving the legal framework, developing effective mechanisms for implementing the Organization’s transport strategy, coordinating joint actions of the customs services of states and jointly building interregional transit routes.

The formation of a modern branched system of transport and transit routes in the SCO space and the holding of joint events in this area are mutually beneficial, and are also aimed at solving problems that meet the interests of the member countries of the Organization.

In this vein, the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan took the initiative to create, under the auspices of the UN, an interregional center for interconnectedness in Tashkent, which will undoubtedly give a positive impetus to the development of a transregional integrated transport and logistics system.

Another important proposal of the leader of Uzbekistan was the holding of the first SCO Transport Forum in our country to develop joint actions for the practical implementation of the Organization’s transport strategy.

Such close attention of the Head of Uzbekistan to the issues of expanding transport connectivity in the SCO space is not accidental. Our state, together with partners, seeks to effectively use the geographical features of the vast SCO space, when countries can act as the main connecting links between East and West, North and South.

In other words, this space looks like a kind of bridge with unique opportunities to expand trade, economic, energy, cultural and humanitarian ties between the SCO countries. This acts as an important factor in the rapprochement of the states that are members of the Organization.

It should be noted that currently there are positive trends in strengthening relations between the SCO countries. At the level of the heads of state of the Organization, political trust and mutual understanding have been established, there is a commonality of approaches in various areas of interaction and a desire to bring countries and peoples closer together. All this creates ideal conditions for strengthening transport connectivity through the formation of new international transport corridors in the SCO space.

Further growth in the number of full-fledged participants in the Shanghai Organization at the expense of states with observer status, as well as dialogue partners, will also allow the consistent development and implementation of new projects in the transport and transit sector. All this requires a certain rethinking of the nature of transport interaction within the framework of the SCO, updating its strategic paradigm, and entering new promising areas.

Sarvar Kamolov

Chief Researcher at ISMI

under the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan