THE USA JOURNALS
THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF POLITICAL SCIENCE LAW AND CRIMINOLOGY (ISSN- 2693-0803)
VOLUME 06 ISSUE06
31
https://www.theamericanjournals.com/index.php/tajpslc
PUBLISHED DATE: - 21-06-2024
DOI: -
https://doi.org/10.37547/tajpslc/Volume06Issue06-05
PAGE NO.: - 31-34
UZBEKISTAN AND THE SHANGHAI
COOPERATION ORGANIZATION: THE
EMPHASIS ON THE CONNECTIVITY
Rakhmatulla I.Nurimbetov
PhD, Tashkent State University for Oriental Studies, Tashkent, Uzbekistan
INTRODUCTION
In light of the high geopolitical dynamics in the
world and around Central Asia in particular, issues
of transport connectivity, especially the creation of
new international transport corridors, are
becoming key task of the foreign policy strategy of
the states of the region. This fact determines the
strategic importance of connectivity diplomacy in
the foreign policy of Uzbekistan.
Based on this, both in the context of bilateral
political and economic contacts with its partners,
and within the framework of multilateral
cooperation, i.e. with regional and international
organizations, Tashkent attaches great importance
to promoting its interests in strengthening
transport connectivity. The SCO is one of the most
important multilateral platforms for the
implementation of the main goals and objectives of
Uzbekistan’s
connectivity
and
transport
diplomacy.
SCO’s connectivity potential
. The very geography
of the SCO determines the need for extensive
development of transport communications. If one
looks at
the map of the “SCO space”, in the East
there is China, which is the driving force of
international trade, in the South - India, turning
into a new economic giant, in the North - Russia
with the world's largest reserves of natural
resources, in the Middle East - Iran, which, given its
rich oil and gas reserves, plays a strategically
important role, and the center of this large territory
is the Central Asian region with Uzbekistan in its
very heart.
However, the vast space of the SCO with a territory
of 35 million km² is weakly connected from the
inside. This applies, first of all, to Central Asia,
where each country depends on its markets and the
transit of its goods going to world markets (R.
Alimov, 2022). At the same time, the states of
Central Asia are
among the least “connected”
economies in the world. The region's connectivity
indicator averages less than 60 percent of its
transport access ratio to global GDP, the lowest on
this scale. The cost of importing and exporting
goods in Central Asia remains high, undermining
their competitiveness abroad and increasing the
cost of imported goods for local consumers. For
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Open Access
Abstract
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example, the cost of shipping a container to
Shanghai from any Central Asian country is more
than five times higher than the cost of transporting
it from Poland or Turkey .
In terms of transport and communications, Central
Asia is practically isolated from South Asia, where
India and Pakistan are located. This remains a
major obstacle to expanding trade ties between
Uzbekistan and other countries in the region with
South Asian partners. For example, the share of
Central Asian countries in India's foreign trade
remains very low - only 1.1% .
Geography as a precondition for Uzbekistan to
conduct proactive connectivity diplomacy
. In
the new geopolitical and geo-economic conditions,
the demand for Central Asia as a transit hub is
growing. The benefits of the region's transit
position on the route of goods, services and
passengers are obvious. About 3 billion people live
in countries directly bordering Central Asia or
geographically adjacent to them. (Kamynin,
Lazareva, Lapenko, Lyamzin, 2017).
As a state that needs to cross the territory of at least
two countries to access international sea trade
ports, strengthening transport connectivity in the
SCO space is a vital task: 98% of the country's total
cargo traffic is carried out by SCO countries . This
objective necessity determines the extreme
relevance and priority of the issue of transport
links in the geostrategy of Uzbekistan and, in
particular, in its approaches to the development of
cooperation with the Shanghai Cooperation
Organization. Based on this, Tashkent is
implementing its transport and connectivity
diplomacy within the Organization in the following
priority areas.
The first is the active promotion on the SCO
platform of the issue of creating new transport
corridors, primarily the construction of the
“Uzbekistan
-Kyrgyzstan-
China” and “Mazar
-e-
Sharif-
Herat” railways.
In particular, the President of Uzbekistan
Mr.Shavkat Mirziyoyev, at the SCO summit in
Astana in 2017, announced the strategic
importance of the “Uzbekistan
-Kyrgyzstan-
China”
railway corridor, pointing out that this direction is
the shortest way for a Central Asian country to
enter world markets.
Since then, the Uzbek leader at all SCO summits and
other international forums has been emphasizing
this project as one of the most relevant and
promising transport corridors for the entire region.
This consistent line began to produce results. Thus,
on the eve of the Samarkand SCO summit, on
September 14, 2022, the Ministry of Transport of
the Republic of Uzbekistan, the Ministry of
Transport and Communications of the Kyrgyz
Republic, and the State Committee for
Development and Reform of the People's Republic
of China signed a tripartite memorandum on the
project for the construction of the “Uzbekistan
-
Kyrgyzstan-
China” railway . A logical continuation
was the signing on June 6, 2024 in Beijing of a
tripartite intergovernmental agreement on the
implementation of this project. The agreement
establishes the basic principles and mechanisms
for cooperation between the three countries,
including financing, construction, operation and
maintenance of the railway .
This project, as a part of Chinese Belt and Road
Initiative, has a number of advantages: it is the
shortest route from China to Europe and the Middle
East. The launch of the railway will reduce the
distance by 900 km and the delivery time by 7-8
days compared to existing routes. For Uzbekistan,
the implementation of the project provides a
number of advantages. Firstly, it will turn it into
one of the key players in the transport geopolitics
of Central Eurasia, dramatically increasing its
transit potential. Secondly, it will become a
powerful driver for the development of trade and
the formation of new sources of growth. Thirdly,
this railway will subsequently connect with the
railway networks of Turkmenistan, Iran and
Turkey and may lead to the formation of a new
transcontinental transport system in Eurasia.
Another priority of Uzbekistan’s t
ransport
diplomacy within the SCO is the project for the
construction of the “Termez
-Kabul-Mazar-e-Sharif-
Herat” railway. According to Uzbek experts, when
it is launched, the trans-Afghan corridor will
become the shortest route for Central Asian
countries to access the Indian Ocean through the
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Pakistani ports of Karachi and Gwadar. The new
railway will allow transporting up to 20 million
tons of cargo per year, which reduces
transportation costs by 30-35% .
Pakistan has been a key strategic partner of
Uzbekistan in promoting this project for several
years . They also actively interact within the SCO on
issues of interconnectedness.
At the same time, due to the ongoing difficult
situation in Afghanistan and a number of other
technical and financial factors, the start of practical
work on the construction of the railway has been
delayed. However, official Tashkent is making
active diplomatic efforts in this direction, not only
together with Afghanistan and Pakistan, but also
with third interested parties. In particular, recently
Russia, within the framework of the new foreign
policy course “pivot to the East,” is also beginning
to show interest in this project. Thus, according to
Russian expert A. Knyazev, this route is confidently
considered as an additional corridor, thanks to
which Russia will diversify the southern direction
with access to both Iranian and Pakistani ports,
complementing the North-South international
transport corridor . During his state visit to
Uzbekistan on May 26-28, 2024, President
Vladim
ir Putin confirmed Moscow’s interest in the
trans-Afghan project.
In the final Joint Statement of the Presidents of the
Republic of Uzbekistan and the Russian Federation,
they gave a positive assessment to the results of the
first meeting of the working group on the
development of the multimodal transport corridor
“Belarus –
Russia
–
Kazakhstan
–
Uzbekistan
–
Afghanistan
–
Pakistan”, held on April 23, 2024 in
Termez .
On this basis, it can be assumed that Russia, within
the SCO, will henceforth actively support
Uzbekistan’s efforts to promote the trans
-Afghan
railway corridor. In this regard, the geostrategic
significance of this project in transport diplomacy
in Tashkent will only increase. Firstly, the railway
directly connects the Central Asian region with
South Asia and provides access to Indian Ocean
ports. Diversification of transport corridors is of
strategic importance for the states of Central Asia
in the context of the fact that, from a geographic
point of view, it is a rather “closed” region with
limited opportunities for the development of
international trade. Secondly, the construction and
launch of the railway opens up broad prospects for
the political, economic and financial stabilization of
Afghanistan, as well as its integration with Central
Asia through strengthening trade and economic
ties. In a broader geopolitical context, if
construction of the railway begins and foreign
banks are willing to provide loans, this will amount
to international recognition of the Taliban (Yann
Alix, 2022).
In addition to the fact that the SCO regions and
countries are not interconnected by transport and
communication systems, the legal framework and
mechanisms for cooperation in this area are very
poorly developed within the Organization. As a
result, cooperation in the field of transport and
transit continues to face a number of problems and
obstacles
of
a
technical,
customs
and
administrative nature. The lack of a mechanism for
protecting foreign investments aimed at
developing the transport network, as well as a
procedure for resolving disputes that arise, also
hinders the development of cooperation in the field
of transport infrastructure in the SCO countries.
But the most important problem is the lack of
political consensus within the Organization
regarding the development of transport projects
and mechanisms for their financing .
In this regard, the second key area of Uzbekistan’s
transport and connectivity diplomacy in the SCO is
the formation and strengthening of the legal
framework and institutional framework for
cooperation of the Organization in the field of
transport and transit. The country takes an active
part in the development of international
agreements and conceptual programs adopted in
this area within the Organization. In particular,
during the Samarkand summit in 2022, the Concept
of cooperation between SCO member states to
develop interconnectivity and create effective
transport corridors, initiated by the Uzbekistan,
was approved. The implementation of this
document, along with policy coordination with
other regional institutions, will contribute to the
development
of
transport
and
logistics
infrastructure, strengthening regional connectivity
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and integration of economic systems, as well as
stimulating comprehensive spatial development .
Tashkent is also an active supporter of expanding
practical mechanisms of transport interaction
within the SCO. Back in 2004, at his proposal, the
Organization’s Working Group on the Development
of Transport and Transit Potential was created. The
Uzbek side is the permanent chairman of this
mechanism.
Along with this, Uzbekistan initiated the
establishment of a mechanism for Meetings of
heads of railway administrations (railroads) of the
SCO member states in 2018. Since then, this format
of cooperation has become regular and within its
framework, broad issues of multilateral interaction
between the member states of the Organization in
the railway sector are discussed.
The idea of regularly holding the SCO Transport
Forum also belongs to the President of the Republic
of Uzbekistan Mr. Shavkat Mirziyoyev. At the First
Transport Forum of the Organization on November
1, 2023 in Tashkent, delegations from 15 countries
discussed the potential for the development of the
transport and logistics sector in the SCO space, the
possibilities of digitalization of the transport
sector, exchanged views on the best practices for
creating sustainable cargo supply chains,
implementing existing infrastructure projects and
ensuring sustainable economic growth in the field
of transport and communications .
CONCLUSION
In general, Uzbekistan’s connectivity diplomacy
within the SCO stands out for its proactivity and
pragmatism. This, on the one hand, is due to the
need to overcome the “geographical isolation” of
the country and implement proactive transport
strategy in this regard, and on the other hand, due
to the new opportunities of the SCO to promote
interconnectedness in the Eurasian space in the
context of the ongoing expansion of the
Organization.
At the same time, as analyzes and observations
show, important initiatives and projects discussed
on the SCO platform have a low degree of
implementation due to the lack of consensus
among the SCO member states on issues of
transport cooperation in a strategic context.
However, taking into account the expansion of the
composition and increase in the international
influence of the Organization, its importance as a
multilateral
platform,
including
for
the
coordination and implementation of large
transport projects in the Eurasian space, will only
increase. In this regard, in our opinion, the SCO will
remain one of the key vectors in Tashkent’s
strategy to strengthen international transport
connectivity in the future.
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