The New Foreign Policy Strategy of Uzbekistan and the SCO
Uzbekistan’s involvement in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation has always been marked by a strong focus on economic cooperation. Tashkent will continue to use this approach during its current leadership of the SCO.
By Dr. Meena Singh Roy
In recent years, Uzbekistan has emerged as a significant player not only in the Central Asian region, but also in global affairs. Its growing position can be attributed to a pragmatic and active foreign policy led by President Shavkat Mirziyoyev. Uzbekistan’s new initiatives in the region and its proactive engagement in multilateral cooperation institutions are being acknowledged and applauded across the world. This has substantially bolstered the country’s reputation. In this context, Uzbekistan’s pro-active role in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) merits special attention. As a current chair, Tashkent has presented many initiatives and proposals corresponding to the priority areas of socio-economic development, and actively contributing to enriching the existing agenda of the SCO. The dynamic foreign policy of the country is clearly reflected in its activities in the SCO.
Development Trajectory of the SCO
Established in 2001, the SCO has grown to become the world’s largest regional organization. Its role and profile have grown manifold. It has drawn regional and international attention in recent times. The combined landmass of the SCO member nations exceeds 34 million km2, accounting for more than 60% of the Eurasian continent’s total land area. The SCO nations have a combined population of more than 3 billion people, accounting for about half of the world’s population.
The SCO consists of 21 countries from three continents: Asia, Europe, and Africa. The organization includes eight permanent members, including China, Russia, India, and Pakistan, as well as four observer countries and nine dialogue partners. In the 21st SCO Council of Heads of State Summit in Dushanbe on 2021, Islamic Republic of Iran has been approved as the organization’s ninth full member. In other words, the SCO opens the door to the Middle East, which is a strategically important region.
What is important to note is that four Central Asian countries-Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan joined the SCO as founders and continue to actively participate in its activities, indicating that this organization is significantly crucial for maintaining Central Asian stability and cooperation. While there are many achievements to this organization’s credit, but new threats and challenges continue to confront the member states demanding the SCO countries to come up with innovative ways to deal with new challenges through the means of greater cooperation amongst the member states.
Uzbekistan’s Pro-active Strategy and the SCO
Uzbekistan has been one of the founding and active members of the SCO. It is the current chair of this important regional organization. In the present context, it can be argued that the strategy implemented in the SCO space under the leadership of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev is based on countries new foreign policy’s basic principles of constructiveness, pragmatism and pursuing new initiatives. Over the past five years, Tashkent’s approach towards this regional Organization has changed in a constructive way.
It is significant to note that since 2017, Uzbekistan has been participating much more actively in all aspects of the SCO’s cooperation process. Representatives from the Uzbek government, for example, did not actively participate in numerous SCO security activities until 2017, including combined military and anti-terrorist drills, as well as cultural and educational programs. Now, it has embarked on the proactive path, not only does the nation have a stake in how the organization evolves in many aspects, but it also completely supports proposals made by other SCO member states that address shared concerns.
President of Uzbekistan has put forward about fifty important and relevant initiatives at the SCO summits from 2017-2021. Most importantly, these proposals are being consistently implemented in road maps, regulatory policy and conceptual documents, as well as in the form of a new cooperation mechanism. The Statement by President Mirziyoyev – “The SCO is strong only when each of us is strong”- at the 2020 SCO summit fully reveals the essence of country’s constructive approach to work in accordance with the “Shanghai spirit” which is the foundation mantra of the SCO.
In accordance with its new regional strategy of greater cooperation, Uzbekistan is actively calling for the need to utilize the SCO’s enormous potential toward the growth of cooperation in critical sectors like transport, connectivity, logistics, creative and digital development, cultural and public diplomacy. The main SCO events and documents that will be adopted under the chairmanship of Uzbekistan in September this year in Samarkand are aimed at a broad demonstration and promotion of domestic and foreign policies, priority goals and objectives of the new Uzbekistan.
Setting up the long-term goals and priority tasks
The chairmanship of Uzbekistan in this organization is a serious political process that places great responsibility on Uzbek diplomacy. This responsibility allows Uzbekistan not only to continue its growth strategy within the Organization, but also to enrich it with new and significant steps that will produce concrete results. During the keynote speech of the head of Uzbekistan at the SCO summit held in Dushanbe on September 16-17, 2021 President Mirziyoyev set out following tasks to be taken up during Uzbekistan’s chairmanship of the organization:
- deepening trade and economic, investment and industrial cooperation, transport and communication interconnectedness;
- establishing and expanding cooperation in such key areas as poverty reduction and food security;
- wide use of the potential of the SCO in the field of high technologies, innovations, cultural and humanitarian sphere, health care and combating climate change;
- further expansion of the international relations of the SCO and strengthening of its authority in the world.
In addition, it was announced during the summit that a number of new legal, conceptual and policy documents would be developed under the chairmanship of Uzbekistan in the SCO. Interestingly, in order to further expand the multifaceted partnership within the SCO, a Comprehensive Program is being worked out for the implementation of the Treaty on Long-term Good Neighborliness, Friendship and Cooperation of the SCO Member States for 2023-2027, and a Joint Action Plan for the Development of Intra-Regional Trade. The process of developing the SCO Concept on the interconnectedness in the field of transport is also being planned. Some of the other important steps under consideration are – to adopt the Program for Infrastructure Development in the SCO Space, the Program of Action for Cooperation between the Leading Medical Centers of the SCO Member States in the Field of Prevention of Infectious Diseases, the Program for Cooperation in the Field of Telemedicine, the Memorandum between the Authorized Bodies of the SCO Member States on Cooperation in the Field of Museum Affairs, the Agreement on cooperation in the field of the use of renewable energy sources between the SCO member states and a number of other important documents. The adoption of these documents will undoubtedly be a significant contribution towards updating the SCO agenda and adapting its activities in addressing new challenges and realities. More than 80 events at various levels within the framework of the SCO are expected to be held under the chairmanship of Uzbekistan, during which a wide range of issues related to the further development of cooperation in all areas will be considered.
Two important proposals of the President of Uzbekistan aimed at expanding the SCO agenda through interaction on the most promising and topical issues were implemented. In November 2021, for the first time, ministerial-level meetings on information and communication technologies were held. In addition to this, on January 25, 2022, similar meetings were held on poverty reduction. These events are reflective of proactive strategy adopted by President Mirziyoyev. More importantly, Uzbekistan’s involvement in this organization has always been marked by a strong focus on economic cooperation. Tashkent will continue to use this approach during its leadership of the SCO.
Another significant initiative in this direction has been the creation of the industrial zone “Uzbekistan-SCO”, which will allow the implementation of joint projects with the SCO member states and foreign investors. In this context, events planned for this year are – the Economic Forum, the Forum for Small and Medium Business of the SCO Regions, the Forum for the Development of Industrial Cooperation, the Tourist Forum, and the Forum of the Heads of the SCO Regions.
On the regional security agenda, the first high-level meeting on Afghanistan will be held within the framework of the SCO, as part of the suggestion proposed by the President of Uzbekistan. In this context the SCO’s Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS SCO) that is based in Tashkent has been active. In October 2021, India assumed the charge of head of the SCO Council of Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure.
With an aim to enhance cooperation in culture and tourism Tashkent recently hosted an international tourism forum “A new stage of cooperation between the SCO countries: tourism and cultural heritage”, as well as a meeting of sports ministers of the member countries of the association. During the events, specific goals and objectives were worked out, agreements were finalized, which the parties will sign on the sidelines of the September summit. In this regard, the heads of tourism administrations of the SCO member states discussed a new stage of cooperation in the field of tourism and cultural heritage. One of the highlights were proposals of deepening cooperation on promoting joint tourist routes, as well as expanding transport and logistics opportunities within the SCO member states. It was noted that the total space of the SCO member countries, stretching from the Arctic to the Indian Ocean and from Shanghai to Kaliningrad, includes more than 40 percent of the world’s population. This is a huge tourism market, the potential of which should be fully realized in the coming years. Similarly, discussions were held on taking new initiatives in the field of preserving cultural heritage, as well as prospects for cooperation in the field of archeology, museum work, education and science in the field of tourism.
The proactive strategy gets reflected in the aforesaid initiative of Uzbekistan in the areas of proposing future cooperation on tourism and culture under the SCO framework, which has huge potential. Aziz Abdukhakimov, Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Minister of Tourism and Cultural Heritage, noted during the recently held form meeting that in order to ensure the tasks set by the leaders of the countries of the SCO, it is necessary to form a permanent coordination group at the level of deputy heads of tourism administrations in charge of international cooperation. It is proposed to hold a series of discussions with the wide involvement of the tourism business, to form a database of the most popular destinations and routes between the SCO member states, to study the challenges and identify problems that hinder the potential of domestic tourism in the organization’s space, including opportunities for combined tours and cross-border tourist exchange. The main goal is to develop recommendations for improving the tourist and transport communication between the countries along the combined routes, which are in great demand among foreign tourists.
In this direction, Uzbekistan is actively working with Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan on tourist routes in the Ferghana Valley, with Kazakhstan – along the tourist square Turkestan – Tashkent – Samarkand – Bukhara. It has been noted that Central Asian countries are ready to share this experience with other SCO partners to realize the full potential of cooperation with other member states. In this context, the digitalization of the tourism industry, the use of “smart” and “green” technologies have also been identified as important areas of priorities for the SCO cooperation agenda.
Development of cooperation with the SCO countries in matters of tourism is a key task for Uzbekistan. This gets a greater salience as the SCO countries, having the largest number of natural objects in the world, recognized masterpieces of mankind and cultural sites have a huge tourism potential. The total cultural heritage of the SCO member states, observers and partners is 207 UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
In addition to the tourism forum, a meeting of the heads of ministries and departments for physical culture and sports of the SCO member states was held in the capital. A plan was approved for the implementation of the “road map” of cooperation between relevant ministries and departments responsible for the development of physical culture and sports of the SCO countries for 2022-2024. The SCO Tashkent International Half Marathon was held in March this year, which was held in Uzbekistan for the first time. It is pertinent to state here that the main goals of promoting cooperation in the sports sector are to ensure sustainable development by strengthening friendly ties through sports. The next meeting of the heads of ministries and departments of the SCO member states responsible for the development of physical culture and sports will be held in 2023 in India.
Present dynamic measures taken by Uzbekistan as an SCO chair reveal the future vision and pragmatic approach of the President Mirziyoyev under whose leadership new proposals of cooperation in every arena – economic, connectivity, security, energy, culture and sports- are being initiated. Uzbekistan will be remembered for carving out a new pro-active strategy of cooperation under the leadership of President Mirziyoyev for the SCO member states in its upcoming 21st Summit. Number of new initiatives proposed by Uzbekistan will definitely leave a lasting mark on the SCO declaration to be adopted in September 2022 in Samarkand.
The author is Senior Fellow and Head, Central Asia and West Asia, Tillotoma Foundation, & Former Head, Eurasia and West Asia Centre, IDSA
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