On August 9, Astana hosted the Sixth Consultation of Heads of State of Central Asian Countries. The documents signed and the overall rhetoric of the summit suggest that the meeting marks an important milestone in the region’s integration process.
Unlike previous consultative conferences, the 2024 Astana Summit will be a pivotal moment for Central Asia. For the first time since the platform was established in 2018, it will focus on the institutionalization and consolidation of regional processes in Central Asia.
Highlighting the geopolitical challenges surrounding the Central Asian region, Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev said, “Due to its geopolitical position, Central Asia is experiencing the negative effects of a global crisis of confidence and intensifying conflicts.”
“The events taking place in Ukraine and the Middle East have a direct impact on the stable and sustainable development of the region,” he continued.
“Thus, we became prisoners of the sanctions policy,” Mirziyoyev said, alluding to the negative impact of Russia's war in Ukraine.
According to Mirziyoyev, the best way to mitigate the aforementioned challenges is regional integration.
“Overall, I believe that the time has come to jointly consider ways to further improve the format of the consultative meeting in order to further deepen regional integration and enrich the agenda of our long-term partnership,” the Uzbek President said.
This was the first time that Central Asian countries explicitly discussed regional integration and proposed a roadmap for achieving this goal.
One of the biggest obstacles to Central Asian integration is Russia, which has consistently tried to block attempts to diversify trade and gas pipelines in the region and sabotage the integration process among the five countries. Another obstacle to attempts at greater regional integration in Central Asia is the existence of alternative platforms such as the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), which includes Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Russia, but which arguably prioritizes Russia's geopolitical goals over economic integration among its member states.
In the midst of Russia’s war in Ukraine and the subsequent war with the West, the EAEU has become a tool to subvert Western sanctions in Russia’s favor, endangering the economies of its member states. Moreover, Russia’s aggression in Ukraine has created distrust among the Central Asian states, necessitating a concerted policy towards external powers.
The rhetoric of integration seems to be more than just a token gesture, as evidenced by the set of documents signed. As a result of the summit, the five Central Asian republics signed the Strategy for the Development of Regional Cooperation “Central Asia 2040”. To put words into action, the five countries will launch mechanisms and institutions for regional cooperation, including meetings of national coordinators, sectoral ministries and agencies. In terms of practical measures, the Central Asian republics will consider removing tariff and non-tariff barriers, mutual recognition of certificates of conformity, regulatory harmonization, digitalization of customs and phytosanitary procedures, and mutual access to public procurement.
Cooperation is not limited to the economic sphere, but also involves mitigating common security threats and building regional identity.
The day before the meeting, Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev published an article in Kazakhstan's Pravda newspaper titled “Central Asian Renaissance: Towards Sustainable Development and Prosperity,” in which he stressed the urgent need for a unified approach to cooperation in regional security and defense policy.
Mirziyoyev also mentioned the article in his speech at the summit.
Regarding efforts at building a regional identity, Mirziyoyev declared, “Today we can confidently say that the formation of a common regional identity has already begun.” According to him and Tokayev, this will be achieved by adapting a common historical narrative and disseminating it through regional television stations, news Internet portals and academic forums.
Other practical aspects of regional integration will be discussed among the expert community of the five Central Asian republics, which will draw up proposals to be considered at the next Central Asian Summit to be held in Tashkent next year.
